The Wedding Planner
by promise.me.forever
Summary: Gabriella Montez lead a happy life. Until she had to be her first love's wedding planner, that is. Will she be able to handle it? [Troyella][Completed]
1. Gabriella Montez: Wedding Planner

**Author's Note: Hey! I'm back and with a new story. I hope you like it…something I sorta thought of after watching the Wedding Planner. It's not going to follow the movie; it's going to be different. For what I have planned now, anyway. Hehe. –winks-**

**Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical.**

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"Gabriella! Stop sleeping on the job! Have you ordered the flowers for the Johnson's wedding yet? Their wedding is in less than a week!" an annoying voice rang out in her office.

Gabriella jumped up at the voice, recognizing it as her boss's. She looked up to find that it was indeed her boss, standing in the doorframe of her office with her arms crossed. She snatched the piece of paper that stuck to her forehead off, and began to rub her eyes from dozing off on her desk. Gabriella yawned, and then stretched her arms.

"Yes, two dozen lilies and pink roses for the bridesmaids' bouquet?" she inquired making sure her order was correct.

Her boss, Jamie was blonde and had hazel eyes. She was fairly easy going, but she always wanted a job to be done correctly and without hesitation. When she asked you to plan a wedding, you had to answer a 'yes' right away, otherwise she would hand it off to another planner in the agency.

Jamie smiled, "Yes, good work Montez. You know, you are one of my best wedding planners. Keep it up. Oh, and don't forget to call the caterer's and cancel the spaghetti platter order for the Smith's," she said before walking out of Gabriella's office.

Once she left, Gabriella groaned and let her head fall and hit the desk. Gabriella was not one to sleep during her job, but she was up half the night because Taylor spent the night at her apartment weeping and sobbing about her ex-boyfriend, Josh. Taylor and Gabriella kept in touch after high school, and were still friends. They both lived in Louisiana, where they moved after they graduated college. Taylor became a chemistry teacher, and teaches at a school nearby Gabriella's office. Sometimes on her lunch break, Gabriella would stop by and they would eat lunch together.

Kelsi called her office once and awhile, to catch up on things. She and Jason were still dating, after they got together during junior year. She became a famous composer, writing for Broadway in New York. Gabriella and Taylor recently flew out to see one of her shows, and Gabriella thought it was fantastic.

Gabriella hadn't heard anything from Sharpay or Ryan; she guessed they were too busy with their 'drama lives'. All she could remember was that Sharpay went off to college with an acting major and Ryan with a directing and producing major. As for Zeke, he now had his own cooking show on television and also opened up a restaurant near where Gabriella lived. Gabriella kept trying to go and see him there, but every time she was about to walk out the door, Jamie would give her another wedding to plan or problem to solve.

Chad and Troy had become basketball stars, both in the NBA. They played for the L.A. Lakers. This was always a sore subject with Gabriella; Troy and Gabriella had dated in high school, but they broke it off before they left for separate colleges. She didn't want to break up, but long-distance relationships were hard. Besides, Troy was probably going to have girls all over him; she didn't want to find out something that would break her heart. Chad and Troy both usually were on television for interviews, since now they were the newest and hottest thing in basketball. Most of the time Gabriella would change the channel, not wanting to think or see him. It hurt, and Gabriella didn't go a day without thinking about him.

Gabriella sighed as she picked her head up from her desk. Her brown eyes wandered to the clock on her computer screen, and saw that it was five after seven. Her eyes widened in shock, and then picked up the phone. She swiftly dialed the number of the caterer's, hoping to catch them before they left for the day. Luckily for her, a man picked up.

"C&C Catering, how may I help you?" a scruffy voice said.

Gabriella smiled and perked up. "Hi, I need to cancel part of a previous order," Gabriella spoke into the phone with a bright voice.

The man sighed on the other line. "What is the last name of the order?" he asked irritated as Gabriella heard tousling papers in the background.

"Smith. I would like to cancel the spaghetti platters, please," Gabriella said sweetly, not wanting to get on the guy's nerves.

She continued to hear the ruffling of papers. "Yeah, Smith. Cancel the spaghetti platters?" he confirmed.

"Yes, thank you," Gabriella replied.

"You got it toots," he said before he hung up.

Gabriella made a sound of disgust as she hung up the phone. She yawned again and then stood up. She looked around her office; observing how messy it had become. She had papers everywhere, manila folders falling off her desk and computer monitor and order forms all over the place. This time of year became busy; it was the beginning of spring and wedding season was right around the corner. She sighed, and then started to clean up the mess.

Her walls were painted a light shade of blue, and she had pictures of her friends and family hung up. While she was cleaning one of her bookshelves, she looked up and saw a picture of her and Troy. Troy had his arm around her waist while he was kissing her on the cheek. She faintly smiled, but then shook her head and started to clean again.

An hour later, she began to gather her things to go home. She grabbed her purse, jacket and a couple of folders for further planning at her apartment. She closed her office door and began to walk out of the building, her heels clicking on the marble floors underneath her feet. Unfortunately, before she got to the elevator, Jamie stopped her.

"Gabriella!" she yelled as she passed her office.

Gabriella hung her head back and let out a small groan. She reluctantly turned and walked into her boss's office.

"Yes?" she asked, trying not to sound annoyed.

The blonde smiled. "How are you coming with the Smiths' wedding? Did you cancel the order?" she asked, leaning back in her black leather chair.

"Yes, I did. I called and canceled about an hour ago. Their wedding is coming along fine, I'm taking home their plans tonight to tie up some loose ends," Gabriella replied.

Jamie nodded. "Good. You know you are one of the most requested wedding planners in Louisiana?" she asked with a bright smile on her face.

Gabriella's face lit up. "Really?" she asked surprised.

"Yes! People from New York are flying in just to get married here because they want their wedding planned by the astonishing Gabriella Montez!" she exclaimed.

Gabriella grinned. "Thanks. I better be going home, though. I'm starving," Gabriella said as she started to walk out of Jamie's office.

"Oh, and Gabriella?" Jamie asked before she left.

Gabriella closed her eyes and sighed before she turned around. "Yes?"

"You might have another wedding to plan tomorrow. Someone called earlier, and they asked for you. These people are from California! But more details tomorrow. Well, I'll see you later!" she said as she waved.

Gabriella put on a fake smile and waved back. "See you tomorrow," she answered back as she left for the elevators. _'Great, another wedding. Just what I need. As if I don't have enough to plan already! Ah, well, maybe this one will be easy,' _she thought as the elevator took her down to the lobby. Regrettably, she was in for a surprise the next day.

**----**

**Author's Note: So, there's the first chapter. I will try to get the next one up soon. I know it sort of started slow, but it will go faster. This chapter was just sort of there to introduce everything. The next chapter will better and longer, I promise! Please review! They keep me updating faster! Thanks!**


	2. Surprise Much?

**Author's Note: Okay, this site was not working yesterday and it really pissed me off. But now that it's working, I'm happy. Lol. And, since this site was on the fritz forever, I am so sorry that I didn't update yesterday. But anyway, here you go.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical. If I did, I would be writing another great screenplay instead of writing on fanfiction and making a couple of more millions. Anywho, here's chapter two.**

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'_Beep Beep Beep'_ rang Gabriella's alarm clock. Gabriella rolled over and hit her clock forcefully. She sighed and looked up at her ceiling, not wanting to get out of bed. _'Great, here's another fascinating day in the life of Gabriella Montez,_ She thought as she crawled out of bed. Gabriella stumbled over to her bathroom, undressed and got into the shower.

Gabriella lived in a small apartment, ten minutes from her office. It had two bedrooms, a conjoining bathroom to her room, a kitchen, and a living room. It was fairly small, but she liked it that way. It was just right for her, and she didn't have to share it with anyone.

She got out of the shower, and got dressed in simple attire. She had on a black skirt, with a blue blouse. She put on her heels, brushed her teeth, put her hair up in a pony tail and bolted out the door.

When she arrived at her office, she found her co-worker, Cindy waiting beside her door. Cindy had dirty blonde hair, and blue eyes. She was nice, and was usually helping Gabriella with weddings that she couldn't handle herself.

"Hey Gabs," she greeted with a smile.

Gabriella took out her keys and smiled back. "Hey Cindy. What's up?" she asked as she unlocked her door.

Cindy sighed. "Not much, except Jamie's been hounding me with weddings," she said as they both walked into Gabriella's office.

Gabriella put down her keys and purse on a table beside her door. "She's pestering you too, huh?" Gabriella asked.

Cindy nodded gravely. "Yeah, and I already have three I have to plan in the next three weeks."

Gabriella chuckled as she sat behind her desk. "You're lucky. I have five before next month, and now Jamie said she might be giving me one today," Gabriella said while she started checking her mail.

Cindy sat up at this. "The California wedding? She's giving it to you?" she asked excitedly.

Gabriella looked at Cindy suspiciously. "Yes," she answered slowly.

Cindy's smile grew, so she was now grinning ear to ear. She then looked at the picture of Gabriella and Troy, and then looked back at Gabriella. "Do you know whose wedding it is?" she asked.

Gabriella raised an eyebrow, not understanding the point Cindy was trying to make. "No, I don't," she responded.

Cindy just sat there, grinning. "Well then, I wouldn't want to spoil it. I'll be in my office if you need anything," she said as she got up quickly and ran out of the room before Gabriella had a chance to ask anything.

Gabriella sat there, looking at the place where Cindy was just sitting and furrowed her brow. She then shook her head and started to work at her computer.

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"Gabriella!" Jamie exclaimed as she threw open the door to her office.

Gabriella jumped a little at her voice, but looked up.

Jamie strolled over to her desk, and dropped another manila folder on it. Jamie looked at Gabriella and smiled.

"Another wedding. They'll be here tomorrow," she said.

Gabriella looked at the folder. It was chocked full; it looked as if though someone had already planned it. The papers weren't organized; they were sticking out at different places. Gabriella felt her mouth drop open as she tried to lift it. She let it plop down to her desk as she looked up.

"Jamie, I already have five weddings to plan before next month! You can't possibly expect me to do this one!" Gabriella proclaimed as she once again tried to pick up the folder.

Jamie smirked. "Remember what I said last night? You're one of the best, Gabriella. They'll be here tomorrow," she said as she turned and started to walk out of her office.

Gabriella's eyes widened as she watched her walk towards the door. "Wait! Jamie! I…but…no," Gabriella stuttered as Jamie slammed the door closed. Gabriella sighed and slumped down in her chair.

She once again looked at the folder, and saw that it was barely even able to close. Gabriella opened the folder, and looked at the application.

_Name: Melanie Dashsend _

_Age: 24_

_Address: 124 Peckerwood Lane, Las Angeles, CA. 90201_

_Preferred date of Marriage: June 4th, 2014_

_Preferred Theme: Cream colors, oranges, whites…_

Gabriella stopped reading, shoved the application back in the messy folder and pushed it aside. She was about to go get a cup of coffee, but suddenly her phone rang.

Gabriella sat back in her chair and picked it up, "West Side Wedding Agency, Gabriella Montez speaking, how may I help you?" she asked.

"By trying to make me not as nervous," the other voice replied.

Gabriella smiled; it was her friend Jackie. Jackie was getting married tomorrow, and Gabriella helped plan their wedding. She met her and her fiancé, John in college at a party. She was happy they were getting married; they were perfect for each other.

"Relax, Jackie. You'll be fine. John isn't going anywhere, he loves you, trust me. And you will be great. The dress we picked is breathtaking; you'll look fantastic," Gabriella said into the phone.

"Thanks, Gabi. So how's work going? Last I heard from you, you said that your boss was really riding you with more and more weddings," Jackie said.

Gabriella sat up and looked at the untidy folder next to her. "Yeah, she still is. She gave me another _huge _wedding today; the folder with all the information in it is massive! The bride must be rich. Apparently these people are from California," Gabriella answered.

Jackie's voice now became animated and thrilled. "From California? Your boss gave you the wedding from California? As in Las Angeles, California?" she asked eagerly.

Gabriella made a confused look. "Yes, she did. Why is that such a surprise to everyone?" she inquired.

Jackie started to laugh quietly. "Ahh, Gabi. Good luck with this one, that's all I am going to say."

Gabriella's face became indifferent. "Okay, I gotta go. I'll talk to you later, Jackie."

Jackie chuckled. "Alright, I'll see you tomorrow. Bye," her voice rang in the phone.

Gabriella shook her head and hung up. _'What does everyone know that I don't?' _she asked.

"The people here have gone completely nutters," she mumbled before she stood up and started to walk out of the office. She turned and walked down the hallways, passing Jamie's office. Unfortunately, while she was passing, Jamie was coming out, causing them to bump into each other and fall to the ground.

"Watch it!" Jamie yelled as she bumped her head, but then her expression softened when she saw it was Gabriella. "Oh, sorry, it's you. Just the person I was looking for," she said as she held a hand down to help Gabriella up.

Gabriella mentally sighed and groaned; whenever Jamie said that it meant more work. But, she took her hand nonetheless and stood up.

"Yes, Jamie?" she asked, praying that she didn't sound irritated.

Jamie plastered a grin on her face. "Good news. I forgot that you had the Greens' wedding tomorrow, so it would be impossible to meet with the new clients. So, I moved their meeting to today, and that way, they can come to the Greens' wedding tomorrow with you to see your work," Jamie finished, still with the grin on her face.

Gabriella's eyes widened. "Today? When? Jamie, I have a lot of work to do, can you please run these things by me first before you change anything?" she asked.

Jamie's smile faltered. "Fine. From now on, I run everything by you. Okay?" she asked in a mock tone.

Gabriella grimaced, but nodded.

Jamie's smile returned. "Good, we have a deal then. Go back to your office; they should be here in about ten to twenty minutes," she said before walking back into her own office.

When she turned around, Gabriella stuck her tongue out and rolled her eyes at Jamie's retreating back. Once she was inside, Gabriella grunted and slid down the wall. It wasn't that she didn't like new clients, she did. It was just at the moment, she had a lot of work on her hands, and this wedding seemed like a huge deal. Apparently it was, because Jamie, Cindy _and _Jackie new about it and were excited.

Gabriella sighed, got up, and started to retreat back to her office. Before she opened her door, she examined it. It was clear and intangible, and had her name on it in white, bold letters. She smiled a little, and then walked in. Gabriella then tried to tidy up her workplace a little more, filing papers in their proper place. Once she thought it was presentable, she sat back at her desk.

'_Better read more on these people before they come in,'_ she thought. She pulled the folder towards her, (it took _two_ hands and a little force to do so) and opened it once again. Automatically, a stack of papers slid out of the folder and onto the floor. Gabriella sighed, and then muttered a curse word you would usually not hear from her. She bent down to pick them up, stuffed them all into one huge pile, and then slammed them down on her desk, not caring how cluttered and chaotic they looked.

She started to read through the first paper, which was about where they wanted to wedding to be. Gabriella took a sip of her water, but then almost spit it out when she read where they wanted the reception. They wanted it to be at Zeke's restaurant, because 'they knew the owner by an old friendship in high school'. Gabriella looked at the bride's name again; Melanie Dashsend. '_We didn't have a Dashsend in our school…'_ she thought. But then it hit her like a ton of bricks. She swiftly tried to find the application through out the stack of papers, but was failing miserably. She was so determined and distracted to find out the groom's name, that she didn't hear her door open.

"Gabriella?" a surprised voice asked.

Upon hearing her name, Gabriella's head snapped up, and then froze when she saw the person standing in her doorway.

In her doorway, was an older, leaner, and taller version of Troy Bolton. He seemed to be frozen also, because when she looked up, his eyes widened and stared at her in shock.

Gabriella's heart started to speed up, and knots were arriving in her stomach. "Troy?" she asked quietly.

This seemed to snap him out of his trance, because she slightly smiled and nodded. Gabriella began to smile, walked around her desk and wrapped him in a giant hug. Her arms were around his neck, while his were around her waist.

She broke away, a huge smile on her face. "How have you been? I haven't seen you in years!" she exclaimed.

Troy's smile began to falter, and he chuckled nervously. "I've been good..." he answered as his hand flew up to the back of his neck.

"What brings you here?" Gabriella asked, now excited.

Troy was going to answer, but then suddenly the door opened and a girl with red hair and blue eyes walked in, smiling. She then pecked Troy's cheek and turned to Gabriella.

"Hi, I'm Melanie. Are you our wedding planner?"

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**Author's Note: Haha. Cliffhanger. I thought this chapter was longer, don't you? Well anyway, thank you to my lovely reviewers! If you have questions, don't worry, they will all be answered in the next chapter. Next chapter should be up soon. Review if you want it! Lol. Please review! Thanks!**


	3. Freaky Callback Boy Troy?

**Author's Note: Chapter 3! Yay! For some reason this one took a long time. Thanks for the reviews. ;) But anyway…on with the story!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical.**

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"Are you our wedding planner?" the redhead asked with her hand outstretched.

Gabriella stood there in shock, trying to take this entire new information in. She shook her head and closed her eyes, thinking maybe she didn't hear her correctly.

"I'm sorry, what?" Gabriella asked once she opened her eyes.

Melanie just smiled and giggled. "Are you our wedding planner? Troy and I are getting married," she repeated.

Those last words hit her like she got slapped across the face. Gabriella felt her world crash down around her and her heart breaking. She continued to stare at the girl, but then snapped out of her reverie, put on a fake smile and took her hand.

"Oh, yes I am. Hi, I'm Gabriella," she said shaking her hand.

Melanie's eyes widened in shock as she got excited. "Oh, no need to tell me. I know who you are! You're one of the best wedding planners in the country! The Andersen's recommended you as well. Do you remember their wedding?" she asked as Gabriella led them to chairs in front of her desk.

Gabriella nodded. "Yes, I remember them. They wanted a pure white wedding," she responded taking her seat behind her desk.

"I thought that wedding was beautiful. I just had to get you to plan my wedding; I didn't care if I had to fly all the way out here! Troy didn't know who was planning it, I wanted it to be a surprise," she exclaimed happily.

Gabriella smiled kindly, though she could've sworn she heard Troy mumble, "It's definitely a surprise alright."

"So have you guys met?" Melanie asked, looking at Troy.

Troy gave a slight laugh as Gabriella smiled faintly and looked down. "You could say that," Troy replied.

Melanie gave a confused look, but turned back to Gabriella. "Did you check the date for the wedding? Is June 4th okay for you?" she asked.

Gabriella gathered up all her energy and strength to give a warm smile. "Of course June 4th is okay! It's your wedding; I'm not the one getting married," Gabriella said kindly, though she faltered a little on the last sentence.

Melanie gave an excited clap. "Great. That was our first date," she said while smiling at Troy.

'_Oh God, someone please get me out of this mess. Look at her, looking at Troy, eyes filled with love and care. And he's returning the gaze…Oh Lord; I think I'm going to be sick.' _Gabriella thought to herself silently.

"June 4th it is," Gabriella said with a slight smile as she jotted it down on her notepad. As she was writing it down, she saw a tear fall down onto the paper, splattering all over the page when it hit the surface. She wiped it away swiftly, as Melanie was whispering something to Troy. Gabriella took a deep breath and lifted her head up.

"You wanted cream colors?" Gabriella asked biting her lip.

Melanie nodded. "Yes, please. I would really like pink and orange; I think they look really good together," she answered.

Gabriella nodded as she added that to her notes. "And is it true that we're going to a wedding you planned tomorrow?" Melanie asked, trying to hide the thrill in her voice.

"Yes, if you want to come. You don't have to if you don't want to," Gabriella responded, looking up from her notes.

Melanie looked as if she would explode in joy. "Of course I want to come!" she cried out.

Gabriella gave a genuine smile. "Well, the wedding ceremony starts at 10:00 am, at South Baptist Church," Gabriella answered.

"Great! I can't wait!" Melanie said, practically falling out of her seat. Gabriella looked over at Troy, who was looking around the room. He was staring at all her pictures, and his eyes locked on one as he spotted the one of himself and Gabriella on graduation. He smiled; he remembered that day as if it just happened.

_Flashback_

"_Congratulations, Troy! We graduated!" she yelled over the cheers and screams of people. _

_Troy smiled widely. "Yeah, we did. You know, I am going to miss you," he said sincerely. _

_Gabriella's expression changed. "Troy, what are we going to do? You're going off to UCLA and I'm going to New York," she said sadly. _

"_I don't know. But whatever happens, you can promise that I will always love you," he responded, enlacing his fingers with hers. _

_Gabriella's face lightened. "You promise?" she asked. _

_Troy laughed softly, but kissed her on the lips. "Yes, Gabriella. I promise. I will love you no matter what happens." _

_End of Flashback_

He looked back at the person who sitting behind the desk, noticing that this person wasn't the same. She no longer had the happiness in her eyes, like the way they glowed when she saw him walk in her office. Now her eyes were filled with grief and sorrow. His mother always told him 'Eyes are windows to the soul,' and now he truly understood what it meant. He could tell she was broken and shattered, he knew those smiles she was giving were fake; he knew her too well. He was brought back to reality as Melanie nudged him in the shoulder.

"I'm sorry, what were you saying?" he asked clueless.

Melanie laughed. "I said, are you coming with us to the wedding tomorrow?" she asked.

"Oh, yeah, I'll come," he answered sitting up in his chair.

Melanie smiled. "Fantastic. Is there anything else we need to do today?" she asked Gabriella.

Gabriella snapped her head to look at Melanie. "No, there's really nothing else today. Keep that binder tonight; tell me tomorrow which ones you like best, and then we can deal with the flowers that will match as well as the dresses and tons of other stuff. First we need to get the theme perfect," Gabriella responded.

Melanie grinned, and then clutched the binder to her chest. "Well, Miss Montez, thank you so much for helping us plan and arrange this, I don't think we could do it alone," she said standing up.

'_Shut up. You can plan and 'arrange' your own damn wedding for all I care,' _Gabriella thought in her head. "Call me Gabriella, and it's no problem. It's my job," Gabriella replied kindheartedly shaking her hand.

"Well, thank you again, Gabriella," Melanie said with a huge smile while turning to leave.

Gabriella turned to look at Troy. She smiled and shook his hand also, but when their skin touched it sent an electric current through their bodies. Both of them felt it, and they both chose to ignore it as they continued to shake hands.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Gabriella," Troy said as he walked out of her office.

Gabriella smiled at him as she watched his retreating back get smaller and smaller and finally disappear around a corner. She let out a sigh she didn't know she was holding in as she plopped back in her chair.

"So, how'd it go?" a voice asked in her doorway.

Gabriella turned her head so she was able to see the speaker. She saw that it was Jamie, walking over to her desk with a grin on. Gabriella gave Jamie a scowl.

"You _knew_ I dated him in high school! And you gave me his wedding? Were you nuts?" she asked, now sitting up in her chair.

"The bride requested you. What was I supposed to say? 'No, I'm sorry she's not available because she doesn't want to see her ex-boyfriend?'" she asked, now making herself comfortable on the chair where Melanie was just sitting.

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "No, you could have made something up! Say I'm sick! I have too many weddings! Which I do by the way, and this one is huge! I don't know how you expect me to do it all in a month!" Gabriella exclaimed.

Jamie sighed. "Gabriella, let me make this clear. You are one of the best wedding planners in the whole country. People are flying across God's creation to have a wedding planned by you! You will not turn them down! That would just be a huge waste of money! Besides, if you land this wedding and it turns out spectacular like all your other ones, I can guarantee you'll be my new partner," she finished.

Gabriella looked at her boss in shock. "Partner?" she asked incredulously.

Jamie sat up and grinned. "Yes, partner. You may want to think about actually doing their wedding now, won't you?" she asked as she stood up and left the room.

Gabriella fell back into her chair as she let out a frustrated sigh. She sat there thinking, and decided that she needed to go home for the day. Relax, and finish the touches on the wedding for tomorrow. She got up, quickly grabbed the things she needed and left the building.

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"Whoa, wait. As in freaky-callback-boy, lunk-head-basketball-man Troy?" Taylor asked with wide eyes.

It was now late at night, and Gabriella called Taylor to come over. Taylor agreed immediately, hearing the sadness and frustration in her best friend's voice. They were in her living room, eating ice cream, both of them having their own pint.

"Yes, that Troy!" Gabriella answered while getting another scoop of ice cream out of her carton.

Taylor laughed. "I really fail to see how this situation could possibly be funny," Gabriella snapped.

"I'm sorry Gabs, but think about it. What are the chances of having you plan Troy's wedding?" she asked, still giggling.

Gabriella stuffed ice cream in her mouth. "Apparently, really good chances," she replied.

Taylor stopped eating and looked at her best friend. "Tell me, Gabs, because I'm really interested to know. Why is that you're the one making everyone else fall in love, but yourself?"

Gabriella let her head fall back onto a pillow. "Taylor, we talked about this-"

"Gabriella, you haven't been on a date in three years. How come you plan everybody else's love life, but you don't have one of your own? Honestly, before you know it you're going to be old and life will be gone," she said while snapping her fingers at the last part of the sentence for effect.

"Tay, it's just…I don't know. I have tried to let go, I really have. But when his fiancée, Melanie came into today, it just felt like I've been screwed over and got slapped in the face. I need time, I can't just jump out the door and go out with someone," Gabriella said getting in a more comfortable position.

"You still have feelings for him, don't you?" Taylor asked, looking at her friend with a grin on.

"What? No, of course not! I haven't seen him in years! And he's getting married!" Gabriella cried out, looking at her ice cream carton.

Taylor shook her head. "Ahh, Gabi, you have gotten better at lying, but who taught you how to do that? Gabs, it's okay if you still do."

Gabriella snapped her head up. "What do you mean 'it's okay if I still do'? It's not okay! He's getting married. You know the thing where people pledge themselves to another person forever?" Gabriella exclaimed.

Taylor smiled and sank back into the pillows. "So, you do still have feelings for him?" she said matter-of-factly.

Gabriella sighed, rolled her eyes and got up. "I'll choose not to answer that question. I'm going to bed. Feel free to raid the fridge," she said as she walked towards her bedroom.

"All ready ahead of you," Taylor yelled behind her as she held up a tupperware with rice in it.

Gabriella shook her head, bid Taylor goodnight and went into her room. She passed her answering machine, and saw that the little red light was blinking to signal that there was a new message. On her way to her bed, she hit the play button, plopped down on the bed, threw off her heels, and then started to stretch out her feet as the message began.

"Hey, Gabster! It's Chad, how are you? No time, no talk! I heard you had quite the surprise at work today. (At this point he was chuckling) Give me a call when you get in, my cell number is 548 2564. Talk to you later!" his voice then faded as the machine stopped.

Gabriella sat there, not knowing what to do. Her eyes wandered to her digital clock, and saw the neon green lights glowing '10:47'. She decided that she would call him tomorrow; she needed to get to bed. She had a busy day the next day, and she needed to get up early. She yawned as she changed into her pajama pants and camisole and tossed her dirty clothes in the hamper. Gabriella crawled into her bed, and thought about her day. As her mind wandered back to when she met Troy, she felt a tear drop from her eye and fall down onto her satin sheets.

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**Author's Note: Whew, another chapter done. Chapter 4 is also in the process of being done, and it should be done in a couple of minutes. Maybe I'll post it tonight if I get a decent amount of reviews...hmmm. Well if you want it, it's up to you to review. Next chapter will include the wedding, they go to and some other things…Hehe. So, please review! Thanks!**


	4. The Green's Wedding

**Author's Note: Thank you SOO much for all the reviews…I really loved them. And I wanted to update last night, but my internet went down! I was very upset…and this morning I had a truck load of reviews in my inbox and I felt really bad that I didn't update last night, which is why I might update twice tonight. So enjoy this chapter, though I'm not really happy with it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical.**

**----**

"Gabriella," Taylor sang into her best friend's ear. When Gabriella made no sign of movement, Taylor stood straight up.

"Gabriella!" Taylor yelled. Gabriella shot up in her bed, panting. When she looked to her side and saw Taylor, she let out a breath.

"Don't do that! What do you want?" she asked snappily.

Taylor put her hands up in defense. "Hey, sorry. Good morning to you too. I fell asleep on your couch last night, I hope you don't mind. Anyway, your stupid alarm was going off and I didn't know how to turn it off," Taylor said pointing to her alarm clock.

Gabriella's eyes widened in shock as she looked over at the clock. "It's past 6:00? I have to get ready!" she cried as she tumbled out of bed.

Taylor looked at her friend suspiciously. "I thought you said the wedding wasn't until 10:00?" she asked.

Gabriella was already riffling through her closet. "It is at 10:00, but I have to get ready with my apparel, and then I have to make sure the hair stylist is there for the bride with the right materials, make sure the groomsmen get ready on time, be there for moral support for the bride, be sure that everything is in perfect place, I just have tons of stuff to do before the ceremony actually starts," she said all in one breath as she pulled her dress out and placed in on her bed.

Taylor slowly nodded. "Are you going to see Troy today?" she asked causally.

Gabriella gave her friend a skeptical look. "Yes, Tay, I'm going to see him today."

"And he's going to see you in that?" she inquired, pointing to the dress on the bed.

"Yeah, why? Is it a bad dress? I thought it looked nice," she said looking at the dress. The dress was a light blue, and it went down to her ankles.

"Bad? Gabriella that is a gorgeous dress. I'll be surprised if Troy doesn't drop dead. Are you sure a _wedding planner_ would wear this?" Taylor said sitting down on the bed picking it up.

Gabriella smiled. "Well, Jackie made me one of her bridesmaids, so this is her dress, really. But thanks, Tay. I gotta go take a shower," Gabriella said as she walked into her bathroom.

"Okay, I gotta go anyway. I have work also. Tell Jackie I said congratulations and that I will be at the reception later," Taylor yelled over her shoulder as she headed for the door.

"Okay, bye!" Gabriella shouted in her bathroom. She then undressed and got into the shower, letting the hot water hit her body.

----

Gabriella entered the church with a huge smile on her face. When she walked in, she found all the decorations as she ordered and planned them, light blue and white were the theme colors. The flowers were correct and beautiful, blue carnations and daises. She grinned; this was exactly as she planned. She then sauntered her way to the groomsmen's side of the church. She swiftly opened the door to find about seven men sitting and one of them had a vodka bottle in his hands.

"Hello men," Gabriella greeted. All the men turned around and looked at Gabriella.

"Gabi!" John exclaimed as he walked towards her and gave her a hug. "You look incredible!" he said as she stepped back and looked her over.

"Thanks," Gabriella responded with a warm smile. "How are you feeling?" she asked.

He grinned. "I'm actually really good. I'm excited to marry Jackie. I really want to," he said while looking at the door.

Gabriella chuckled. "Don't get your hopes up just yet. You still have quite awhile until she walks down the aisle," Gabriella said.

John smiled. "Yeah, but I can't wait. How is she doing?" he asked.

"I haven't seen her yet, but I'm sure she's doing fine. She loves you," Gabriella replied as she moved towards the door.

"Is that a good thing that you're telling me this?" he asked uncertain.

"Yes, John. It's always a good thing to hear that someone loves you," Gabriella said as she walked out.

"Cindy, where is the bride?" Gabriella asked as spotted Cindy.

"Gabriella! Thank God you're here, she's upstairs in her room. She's waiting for you, she's a total wreck," Cindy replied pointing up the stairs.

"Thank you," Gabriella said as she picked her dress up to walk up the stairs.

"Looking good, Montez," Jamie said as she passed her on the stairs, "Oh, and by the way, this wedding is looking fantastic also. Better control the bride so it's not wasted," she finished as she walked down the last set of steps. Gabriella rolled her eyes and opened the door to the room where the bride was.

"Gabriella! It's about time you got here! My nerves are getting the better of me! I don't know if I should do this," Jackie cried out, plopping down on the ground in her wedding dress.

"Oh, no sweetie. It's okay, you are going to go through with this. John loves you, you know that. And why wouldn't you do it? I know you love him also," Gabriella said as she crouched down beside her weeping friend.

Jackie looked up at her through her tears. "Thank you, Gabriella; it's just that I'm scared. What if he's not there? What if he bailed on me? He seemed insecure last night, and I just don't know…" Jackie sobbed.

Gabriella rubbed her friend's back. "Jackie, all men are insecure before their wedding days, everyone is. It's just cold feet. I'm pretty sure he got over it by now. Relax; everything is going to go fine. And you know me, I've dealt with many couples, and I can tell you and John are going to last forever," Gabriella said as she pulled her friend off the ground.

Jackie gave a watery smile. "Thanks, Gabriella. I should have asked you to be my maid of honor, instead of my stupid sister who's not even here yet."

Gabriella chuckled. "I'm sure she'll be here soon. I have to go check up on other things with the wedding, because I am the wedding planner also," Gabriella said with a smile as she headed for the door.

"You will be back though, right?" Jackie asked she stood back in front of her mirror.

"Of course I'll be back. You don't expect me to just run down the aisle and stand beside you and your sister at a random time, do you?" Gabriella asked grinning.

Jackie returned the smile as Gabriella closed the door. She bounced down the stairs (or at least tried to, in her shoes it was extremely hard) and she trotted around the church, fixing things here and there. She moved some of the flowers around, rearranged some of the chairs in the back, and grabbed the bouquets from the bride's mother. About an hour past, when Cindy ran up to her.

"Gabriella!" Cindy called.

Gabriella turned around and spotted Cindy running up to her. "Yes?" she asked.

"Have you straightened out the problems with the groomsmen?" she asked out of breath.

Gabriella furrowed her brow. "What's wrong with the groomsmen?" she asked carefully.

"The bride's father is drinking too much," she replied.

Gabriella sighed, rolled her eyes and then marched in the direction of the groomsmen's quarters. She then turned around, and walked back to Cindy.

"Take these," she said as she handed Cindy the bouquets.

Gabriella then marched back into the room where the men were. "Where's the bride's father?" she asked as she came through the door.

Every man looked up. "He went to go to the bathroom. Still can't believe his daughter is getting married," one of them said.

"Okay, thank you," she said as she strolled out of the room. She walked towards the bathrooms, but found the man she was looking for sitting on the ground, drinking out of the vodka bottle.

She chuckled and took the bottle away. "Okay, time's up. You need to go back, so when your daughter is ready you can walk her down the aisle," Gabriella said as she helped the old man up.

"It seems just like yesterday she was wearing diapers. Now, she's getting married. It's like tomorrow she'll be announcing she's pregnant," he said as he let Gabriella lead him.

Gabriella let out a laugh. "I don't think she'll be getting pregnant anytime soon, so you don't have to think about that. Don't worry; she is getting married to an amazing man. You should be proud of your daughter."

"You know, you're one hell of a wedding planner," he stuttered out as she then opened the door of the groomsmen. Gabriella smiled and carefully set the man down on a chair. She fixed the coat of his tux, and then walked out. As soon as she came out, Cindy came up to her again.

"Here are the bouquets. Did you straighten it out?" she asked impedingly.

Gabriella nodded and took the bouquets. "Time check?" she asked.

Cindy looked at her watch. "9:37. People should be arriving soon. Oh, Melanie and Troy are at the entrance waiting for you," she said as she strode away in the opposite direction.

Gabriella let out a moan as a thorn pricked her finger. She ignored it and then strolled off in the direction of the entrance. Sure enough when she got there, she saw in the doorway of the church, were Troy and Melanie. Troy was wearing a white button down shirt, with a tie and black slacks. Melanie was wearing a pink sundress with her hair down. Gabriella cautiously made her way towards the couple.

"I'm guessing you found the place alright?" she asked coming up behind them.

Both heads snapped around, and looked at Gabriella. Melanie smiled widely, and Troy just stared.

"Gabriella, you look beautiful!" Melanie exclaimed looking at her up and down.

"Thank you," Gabriella said returning the smile. Troy was just standing there, not taking his eyes off of Gabriella. Melanie nudged him in the ribs. This seemed to snap him out of his trance because he put on a warm smile.

"Yeah, Gabriella, you look gorgeous," he said sincerely.

Gabriella started to laugh. "Thanks Troy," she replied.

Melanie gave Troy a confused look. "How come you never look at me like that?" she asked.

Troy just looked at Melanie, and was at a loss for words. Gabriella sensed this and decided to help him.

"Well, feel free to look around the place; just do _not_ go into the groomsmen's quarters. I can't tell you how many problems I've had already with them," Gabriella said pointing to the room.

Troy chuckled as Melanie nodded. "I really love it! You've done a wonderful job," Melanie said excitedly.

Gabriella smiled. "Thanks. I'm one of the bridesmaids, so I will be up at the alter. We canmeet here after the ceremony and I can give you a grand tour of everything," she suggested.

Melanie nodded. "Yes, that's fine. Sounds like a plan."

Gabriella grinned, bid them goodbye and then strolled away towards the bride's quarters. Her feet were really starting to hurt now, and the wedding didn't even start. She sighed as she marched up the stairs, and came through the bride's room once again.

"I'm back, and I have bouquets!" Gabriella exclaimed.

Jackie turned around with the hugest smile Gabriella has ever seen. "Gabriella, I think I'm ready," she said happily as she took her flowers.

Gabriella returned the smile. "See? I told you everything would turn out okay. Now all we have to do is wait," she said as she sat down next to the maid of honor.

Jackie turned to Gabriella. "Gabi, thank you so much for helping me, both as a friend and wedding planner. You really did make all my wishes about this wedding come true," she said sincerely.

Gabriella just grinned. "It's no problem. I'm glad you're happy," she replied.

----

"I pronounce this couple Mr. and Mrs. John Green. You may now kiss the bride," the priest said with his arms outstretched.

John smiled and happily obliged. Gabriella felt a grin creep on her face as she watched the couple kiss. She was happy that things worked out for Jackie; she just wished her own love life would also. She also felt her stomach turn into knots as she spotted Troy looking at her. She blushed and looked down, hoping he didn't see her glance at him. She was snapped back to reality when the bridesmaid behind her nudged her forward to walk down the aisle with one of the groomsmen. Gabriella did so, and smiled as she walked to the back of the church.

"You're the wedding planner?" the groomsman asked while they were walking down.

"Yeah, that's me," Gabriella responded.

"You did a fantastic job," he said.

Gabriella's smile widened. "Thank you."

Once they got to the back of the church, they unlinked arms. The man held out his hand, and introduced himself.

"Hi, I'm Jeremy," he said, with his hand outstretched.

Gabriella looked up at the man. He had black hair, and stunning green eyes. He was tall, and it looked like he had muscle underneath his tux. She smiled and took his hand.

"Gabriella," she replied shaking his hand.

"Nice to meet you. Will I see you at the reception?" he asked hopefully.

"Likewise. Yes, I should be there," she answered smiling.

"Save a dance for me?" he asked with anticipation in his voice.

"Sure," Gabriella responded delicately. He grinned, took her hand and kissed it softly.

"See you soon," he said before he walked out into the sunlight towards the limo.

Gabriella just stood there, watching him leave. She had a smile on her lips; maybe dating someone else wasn't as bad as she thought. Troy was getting married; there was no way he was going to back out of a wedding to go back to his high school sweetheart, not with how things were going now. He hardly said anything at the first meeting, she doubted he would want to help plan the rest of the wedding at all. She would soon find out that she was wrong, but for now Gabriella still stood at the entrance of the church, and couldn't help but think that maybe Taylor was right. Maybe she should have a love life of her own.

----

**Author's Note: Ick. I didn't like this chapter. But, it was really just a filler until next chapter, which I might post tonight if I finish it. Anyway, please make me tremendously happy by reviewing! Oh, there's a link on my profile to see Gabriella's dress. Please review! Thanks!**


	5. A Fall & A Dance

**Author's Note: Okay, here's the next chapter. Sorry I took long to update. The last chapter sucked in my opinion, but I am glad that some of you enjoyed it. Hopefully this one will be better. Well, I guess we will see.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical.**

**----**

"Gabriella!" Melanie screeched.

Gabriella turned around to see Melanie trotting her way towards where she was standing, Troy not to far behind. She sighed, and walked towards where they were.

"Hey," Gabriella greeted.

Melanie put on a warm smile. "I think it was fabulous, you did a great job. I can't wait for the tour of everything," she said cheerfully.

"Thank you. Should we start with the flowers?" Gabriella asked pointing to a bouquet.

An hour later, Gabriella had gone through explaining about the flowers, decorations, and church possibilities. As she was showing and explaining, however, she couldn't help but notice that Troy was sneaking glances at her when he thought she wasn't looking.

"Are you going to go to the reception?" Gabriella asked as they made their way towards the stairs leading down to the sidewalk.

"Are we invited?" Melanie asked walking beside Gabriella.

"Of course! I don't think Jackie will mind, and the reception is the best part," Gabriella said as they continued to walk.

Melanie smiled and squealed, and then hugged Gabriella. "Thank you!"

Gabriella awkwardly patted her on the back as she gave Troy a surprised look. He chuckled as his hand flew up to the back of his neck. Gabriella smiled, but as Melanie's grip tightened, Gabriella could feel herself slipping off of one of the steps.

"Melanie, I'm-"

"No! Don't say thank you! You really are a wonderful wedding planner!" She exclaimed, still hugging her.

"Yeah, thanks. But I'm going-to-fall-" Gabriella choked out as she felt her heel continue to slip.

"Mel! You're going to make her fall!" Troy cried. Melanie let go immediately, but it was a second too late. Gabriella felt herself loose balance, and start to drift backward. She closed her eyes, hoping that it wouldn't hurt badly. She waited for her body to hit the ground and tumble down the stairs, but the surface never came. Suddenly, she felt a pair of strong arms catch her. She opened her eyes cautiously, and saw Troy looking down at her. He was out of breath, and Melanie was standing a few feet to the left with her hands over her mouth.

"Are you okay?" Troy asked concerned, as she still balanced in his arms.

"Yeah," Gabriella replied breathlessly, looking into his piercing blue eyes.

Troy gave a genuine smile, and then pulled her up. Gabriella's breath caught in her throat as he drew her close to him to prevent her from falling again. His hands were holding her waist and the small of her back, and Gabriella felt memories of high school come flooding back to her. She swallowed hard as Troy made no movement to let go. She finally opened her eyes and looked up into his stunning blue eyes, the eyes she used to know so well. Their eyes locked, and he was about to say something, but he was interrupted by a screech to the left.

"I am so sorry! Are you okay?" Melanie asked running up next to them.

Troy immediately took his hands from Gabriella, though she silently wished inside that he would put them back.

Gabriella managed a warm smile and nodded. "Shall we go to the reception now?" she asked nervously, avoiding Troy's eyes.

Melanie grinned. "Yes, let's go. We'll meet you there," she said as she dragged Troy off to the car.

Gabriella agreed and sighed as she watched them walk away. She started to go down the steps gradually, and when she reached the bottom she saw a familiar friend waiting for her. This certain friend was dark skinned, and had crazy hair. Gabriella grinned as she strolled over to him, picking up her dress in the process.

"Gabster!" he said with a smile as he picked her up into a hug.

"Chad! It's been so long, how have you been?" Gabriella asked excitedly as the broke away. She looked at him; he had definitely changed. His hair was still it's craziness, but he had now a more mature look to his face.

Chad smiled widely. "I've been okay, nothing really out of the ordinary. Did you get my message?" he asked, now leaning against a car.

"Oh, yes I did, but it was late when I got it. I was going to call you later today, after all of this was finished," she said using her arms to gesture what she was talking about.

Chad nodded, but then got a mischievous grin on his face. "So, what was that about?" he said nudging his head towards the place on the stairs where Gabriella had almost fallen.

Gabriella felt the heat rise to her cheeks and looked down. "It was nothing, Chad," she replied.

Chad let out a laugh. "Nothing? Gabs, don't act like it was nothing. Troy doesn't hold people like that for any reason. I was fifty yards away and _I_ could tell there was something there," he said grinning.

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "For God's sake Chad, he's getting married! How could there possibly 'be something?'" Gabriella asked incredulously.

Chad sighed and leant his head back to look at the sky. "Gabs, it's Troy we're talking about. You know him. Don't make _me_ spell it out for you," he said now looking at Gabriella with his arms crossed across his chest.

"Wait, he talked to you about this?" she asked.

"Yes, he did. I'm his best friend, who else would he talk to it about? His high school sweetheart as his wedding planner? Surely he wouldn't take it up with the redhead," he said as he started to walk away.

"Hold on, what did he say?" she inquired as she followed him down the street.

Chad sighed and stopped. "Gabster, I love you like a sister, but I will not talk about this any longer, because _you_ need to go to a certain reception. Now, I am going to continue to walk down this sidewalk, and you are not going to chase after me looking for answers. You will turn around and go to the reception, and you will talk to me later," he said giving her a hug. He then continued to walk down the street, leaving Gabriella standing in shock.

----

Gabriella strolled into the reception hall, hoping to find Jackie to congratulate her. Unfortunately, she kept getting interrupted by friends and guests complimenting her on doing such a 'fabulous job'. After awhile, Gabriella gave up and found her seat, which was fortunately seated next to Taylor.

"Hey Tay," Gabriella greeted as she took her seat.

Taylor smiled widely. "Hey Gabi, I'm really loving the set up here," she said.

"Thanks. Hey Tay, would you call it strange if your high school sweetheart stopped you from falling, and held you a little longer than intended?" Gabriella asked while looking at a menu. She heard faintly in the background a slow song come on, but she ignored it.

Taylor almost fell off her chair. "What?" she asked in disbelief.

Gabriella's eyes slowly transferred from the menu to Taylor. Gabriella nodded faintly, which caused Taylor's eyes to widen.

"Are you serious? Gabriella, it's obvious! He still-" but Taylor was interrupted by another voice.

"Miss Montez, I believe this dance belongs to me?" the voice asked.

Gabriella looked up, and saw Jeremy standing there with his hand outstretched, waiting to take her hand. Gabriella just stared at it, but took it when Taylor pushed her in the back. Jeremy pulled her up off the chair and led her to the dance floor. He placed on hand on the small of her back, and the other he took in her hand. They swayed to the music, but Gabriella didn't feel what she felt with Troy earlier. Whenever Troy touched her, she felt her breath catch in her throat and butterflies arrive in her stomach. With Jeremy, she felt none of these things as they danced. She sighed, and Jeremy must have felt it, because then he spoke.

"Are you okay?" he asked, now looking at her.

Gabriella snapped her attention to him. "Yeah, I'm fine," she responded.

Jeremy raised his eyebrows. "You don't seem fine."

Gabriella let out a breath. "It's just my life, that's all. Nothing I really want to talk about at the moment," she replied biting her lip.

Jeremy just nodded, and then continued to lead her in the dance. As the song ended, she felt a pair of eyes on her. She looked around the room swiftly, and saw a familiar pair of blue eyes looking at her. Gabriella tore her eyes away quickly, hoping that Troy didn't see her gazing at him.

Jeremy broke away from her and smiled. "Gabriella you seem like a really nice person. I would really like to get to know you better. Would you give me your number so we could do something some time?" he asked hopefully.

Gabriella was taken aback by the sudden question, but nonetheless smiled, wrote down her number and gave it to him. He walked away grinning. Gabriella made her way back to the table. When she sat, Taylor over loaded her with questions.

"So, who was that fine man?" she asked with eyebrows raised.

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "He was one of the groomsmen, that's all," Gabriella replied.

"You sure? The look on his face said he wanted to be more than a 'groomsman' in your eyes," she said crossing her legs and sitting back.

Gabriella let out a laugh. "Taylor, I don't think I will be seeing him like that."

"Right, because you still have feelings for Troy," she replied with a knowing look.

"Tay, you realize he _is _here, don't you?" Gabriella asked.

Taylor smiled. 'Yeah, I talked to him while you were dancing with that 'nothing-more-than-a-groomsman' fellow. We talked for a couple of minutes, nothing really exciting. But he did seem kinda jealous that you were with another guy," she said with a satisfactory smile on.

Gabriella shook her head at her friend. "Taylor, you were the reason he saw me with Jeremy, weren't you?" she asked.

Taylor looked away from Gabriella. "What? I didn't tell him you were dancing with another man, no, if that's what you're getting at. What are you talking about?"

Gabriella sighed and smiled. "Unbelievable," she muttered.

Taylor looked back at her friend. "But come on, you can't tell me that you like that guy better than Troy," she said knowingly.

"I'll admit I just didn't feel what I think I'm supposed to. You know, the butterflies in the stomach, heart speeding up, and leaving you breathless? I didn't feel those things when I was dancing with Jeremy," Gabriella replied, playing with the edge of the lace tablecloth.

"And you felt those with Troy," Taylor finished nodding.

Gabriella nodded sheepishly. "Well girl, your heart will figure things out soon," Taylor responded as she got up to go get food from the buffet table.

----

"Are you sure you don't want me to help you clean up?" Gabriella asked the young teen worker.

He shook his head. "No thanks, Miss. I'll be fine," he replied as he continued to pick up streamers and other garbage.

It was after the reception, and almost everybody had left. Gabriella stayed after, wanting to congratulate the happy couple last. She was also supposed to stay until the last guest left, and make sure that everybody had a good time. Two other people stayed after also, one of them having red hair and the other having brown. They were trying to dance to the slow song that had come on due to the teen worker. Sadly, Troy was dancing terribly, and Melanie was getting frustrated. Gabriella bit back a laugh; it was quite funny to see them stumbling all over the dance floor. Eventually Melanie got fed up and marched over to Gabriella.

"Gabriella, can you help me?" she asked huffing.

Gabriella smiled. "Sure. How so?" she asked.

"Teach this buffoon how to dance correctly. Honestly, I do not want to be seen like this on our wedding day!" she exclaimed pointing to Troy.

Gabriella looked at Troy. His face was unreadable; she couldn't tell what he wanted her to do. "Oh, gee, uh, you know I'm not the best dancer-" Gabriella stumbled but Melanie interrupted.

"Please, I saw you out there with that guy. You're great," she said encouraging.

Gabriella couldn't get out of this one. "Okay," she said before walking nervously over to Troy.

When she stood in front of him, he smiled. "Yes, Miss Montez, teach me how to dance," he said.

Gabriella grinned. "You got it Bolton. Now, put your hands on my waist and take my other hand," she instructed.

She felt her heartbeat speed up he took his hand in hers. She looked up and saw him waiting for his next instruction. She quickly looked down.

"And now, just go with the music," she said simply.

Troy began to laugh, but moved slightly to the slow beat of the song. "Definitely not one of your clearest instructions," he whispered.

Gabriella smiled as she leaned and swayed with him. "You have a better way of explaining it?" she asked playfully.

He chuckled and let his head fall back. "Now that I think about it, not really," he answered.

"I thought so," Gabriella said grinning.

Troy returned the grin as he spun her around. Gabriella gracefully twirled her body around and then resumed their original position, except this time their bodies were a little closer. Gabriella took in a quick breath as her body was against Troy's chest. All the muscle from high school was still there, she realized. She looked up at him as the last few bars of the song played out. They locked eye contact, and Gabriella bit her lip.

"You're a really good teacher," he said genuinely, still with eyes locked.

Gabriella's breaths became quicker. "Thank you," she said softy. They were standing so close that she could feel his breath on her neck.

"Why can't you dance with me like that? Honestly, you were a wreck five minutes ago, and now you're fantastic!" Melanie exclaimed from the background, breaking the trance that both of them were in.

Troy and Gabriella jumped away from each other swiftly, as if they did something dire.

"Thank you! I think you've saved us both form utter humiliation at our wedding day," Melanie said coming up to them, wrapping her arms around Troy's arm.

Gabriella gave a small smile. "It's no problem."

Melanie straightened her position. "So, I was thinking we could all meet for lunch tomorrow, to work out the details?" she asked.

"Oh, um, sure," Gabriella responded nodding.

Melanie smiled. "Great, does noon at the café on Spruce Street work for you?"

Gabriella leaned on a table. "Yeah, that sounds good," she replied, putting her hands behind her to support herself.

"Excellent! We'll see you tomorrow," Melanie proclaimed as she started to walk off. Troy nodded at Gabriella, who nodded back. As she watched Troy's retreating back, she couldn't help but wonder what had just happened between them.

----

**Author's Note: This chapter was long, just about 7 pages on Microsoft word! I'm terribly sorry this chapter took so long; I had kind of a hard time writing it. I'm not quite sure it came out the way I wanted it, either. Anyway, I shall have the next chapter up soon, probably late tonight or tomorrow. Please review! Thanks!**


	6. Parting & Photographers

**Author's Note: Thank you so much for the wonderful reviews! Here's chapter 6!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical.**

**----**

"Wait, so you're meeting him for lunch in, like, twenty minutes?" Taylor asked on the other line.

It was the next day, and Gabriella had just gotten out of the shower. She was in her robe, and she had been searching for clothes to wear. Gabriella cradled the phone between her shoulder and ear while holding a shirt up to her chest in the mirror.

"Yeah, Melanie's going to be there too, so don't make it sound like it's only him," Gabriella spoke into the phone as she looked at how the shirt would look.

Taylor began to chuckle. "Well, you're only going to pay attention to him, so why does it matter?"

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "What are you doing today?" she asked, while throwing the shirt on her bed.

"Why does it matter what I'm doing? We should be concentrating on you for the next couple of days," Taylor replied.

Gabriella started searching through her closet. "And why should we be concentrated on me?" she inquired, bending under a rack of clothes to retrieve a pair of shoes.

Taylor let out a loud breath on the other line. "Because, your high school sweetheart just walked back into your life, that's why!" she exclaimed loudly.

"Yeah, but Tay, he came back into my life with a fiancée!" Gabriella retorted back while coming out of her closet with high heeled sandals in her hands.

Taylor snorted. "Yeah, that ditzy redhead? Please, a couple more days of him spending time with you, and he'll realize what an ass he is for getting engaged to someone that wasn't you," Taylor said smartly.

Gabriella sighed. "Melanie's still going to be there though, so it's not like he'll be alone with me at all," she responded.

"I'll distract her," Taylor said. Gabriella could picture Taylor standing in her kitchen, with a mischievous smile playing on her lips.

"No, Taylor. Don't do anything, the last thing I need is police all over my ass asking me questions. Remember last time? You said you would distract that guy at the party that wouldn't leave me alone?" Gabriella asked.

"Hey! That was a good idea! And it did save your butt, so shut up," Taylor replied.

"You threw an alarm clock at his head!" Gabriella cried incredulously, while taking pants out of her drawer.

"So? The point is it distracted him long enough for you to run away," Taylor argued.

"He got seriously injured! The police showed up!" Gabriella shot back, putting on her skirt.

"They showed up anyway, because the neighbors were complaining about the noise. Whatever, the whole point of this is that it worked, and it will work again," Taylor said, not wanting to argue over the incident anymore.

Gabriella sighed as she pulled her pink blouse over her head. "Look, Tay, I'm pretty sure I can take this on my own. If I need any help, I'll let you know, okay?"

"Okay, fine. Anyway, I'll let you get ready for this little 'lunch meeting' or whatever you people call it. Call me after, okay?" she inquired.

"Yeah, sure. I'll let you know how it goes," Gabriella replied, now looking at herself in her full mirror.

"Alright, I'll see you later," Taylor chimed.

"Okay, bye," Gabriella said as she hung up the phone. Gabriella put on her shoes, grabbed her purse and work pad, and then rushed out the door.

----

"Well, I looked through your binder again last night, and we're pretty sure we like number thirteen," Melanie said, handing over the binder with it opened to the picture she was referring to.

Gabriella smiled as she reached across the table to grasp it from Melanie's hands. She took it and looked at the picture more closely, and she grinned as she remembered the wedding. It was a very happy couple, remaindered her of herself and Troy and high school. The groom was a famous baseball player, the bride was a biochemist. She quickly shook these thoughts from her mind, as if it would stop her from thinking such absurdities. She and Troy couldn't get married; she was planning his wedding now! It would be unethical, though she knew deep down that she really wanted to be Melanie at the moment.

She glanced back up at Melanie and smiled. "This is the design that you want?" she asked.

Melanie and Troy exchanged glances. "Well, we want something similar to that, but not exactly the same. Like, I want different flowers, and maybe a lighter pink than that," Melanie stated.

Gabriella nodded as she jotted it down on her pad. "What kind of flowers do you want?" she inquired.

"Well, I don't know what they're called, but they're white, and they have pink inside. You know what ones I'm talking about?" she asked giggling.

Gabriella raised her eyebrows as she tore her eyes off of her pad and onto the redhead. "You mean lilies?"

Melanie started to giggle uncontrollably. "Yes, those are what I would like," she said smiling at Troy.

Gabriella mentally rolled her eyes, but wrote down the information. "Are there any other flowers you would like besides lilies?" she asked.

Melanie was about to answer, but then her cell phone rang. She motioned 'one second' with her finger as she got up and left with her cell phone. Gabriella nodded and began to pick at her food that had just arrived.

"So, Gabi, how have you been? I really didn't get a chance to ask or even talk to you lately," Troy said, making conversation.

Gabriella looked up from her food and gave a warm smile. "I've been okay, nothing really worth telling. How about you?" she asked.

Troy returned the smile. "Not bad, my life has just gotten really hectic and strange, though," he answered leaning back in his chair.

Gabriella nodded in understanding. "Dare I ask why?" she inquired.

Troy had on a sly smile, but was interrupted by a very upset Melanie coming back to the table. Her face no longer had its happiness; her usual energetic smile was now a frown.

"Mel, what's wrong?" Troy asked as she sat back at the table.

Melanie just pouted, and put her arms across her chest. "I hate my job. I need to go back to California," she said as she slumped in her chair.

"Why do you need to go back?" Troy asked, now sitting up in his chair.

She sighed, and then looked away. "I don't know. They 'need me there immediately', apparently," she said mimicking her boss.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Troy inquired.

"What? Come with me? No! You need to stay here and plan the wedding with Gabriella! We talked about this, you know what we want," Melanie exclaimed.

Troy looked as if he had just gotten the death sentence. Gabriella tried her hardest not to laugh; she knew that Troy probably didn't listen to a word his fiancée said about their wedding.

"Are you sure? I mean wouldn't you-" Troy tried to reason, but Melanie shook her head and put up her hand.

"Troy, I'm sure. You stay here, plan with Gabriella. I want this wedding to happen in June, and it won't if you come with me. I'll go home and pack; I need to be on the next flight out, which my boss told me was in about three hours. I need to get moving, so I will see you soon," Melanie said before giving Troy a passionate kiss.

Gabriella quickly looked down at her pad, and started to scratch her head to distract herself. Once she heard them break apart and say their goodbyes, she looked back up at Troy. He was staring at his now finished lunch, and was playing with his fork. Gabriella smiled.

"You have no idea what she wants, do you?" she asked, with her eyebrows raised.

Troy snapped his head to look up at Gabriella. He smiled sheepishly, but then answered, "Not a clue."

Gabriella laughed and started to put her notes away. "Well, since you don't know, I don't know, let's do something easy today," Gabriella reasoned.

"And what would be considered 'easy?'" Troy asked putting enough money out to cover lunch.

"Well, photography is a very easy thing; there are only two choices; color or black and white. I would think that you guys would want color since we're living in the 21st century?" Gabriella asked starting to stand up.

Troy laughed and stood up with her. "Yeah, color sounds good. Where is it?" he asked.

"It's not far from here, real close in fact. It's about three blocks," Gabriella replied as they walked out of the restaurant.

"So are we walking?" he inquired.

Gabriella looked up at him. "Do you want to?"

He stopped walking and looked down at her. "Sure, I mean we haven't talked in ages, and it's not that far."

Gabriella smiled. "Okay, let's go," she said as she started out in the direction of the photographers.

Troy ran to catch up with her. "So, have you talked to Chad?" he asked.

"Yeah, I saw him yesterday," she replied, turning at the corner.

He smiled. "He's came with me for the wedding. I know it's still a month away, but he said he wanted to 'be here'. I know that's really just a cover up; he heard you and Taylor lived here so he came back. Of course he wanted to see you, but I think he wants to get back together with Taylor," Troy said walking beside Gabriella.

"He wants to get back together with Taylor?" Gabriella asked surprised.

Troy grinned. "Yeah, or at least I think so. He talks about her constantly, and is always asking if I saw her or what she looks like," he finished.

Gabriella began to laugh. "Well, Chad was never really great with hiding things."

"Yeah, or timing," he added.

Gabriella smiled widely as she remembered how bad his timing was on triple threat day. "Yes, his timing is terrible. I remember how mad you were at him that day you won the championship."

Troy smiled, but it faltered when he remembered where his status with Gabi was at. "Look, Gabi, I know this must be really awkward for you-" he tried but Gabriella waved it off.

"It's okay, Troy, people move on. We were in high school, and now we're out of college. Let's just try to forget about it. I mean, obviously Melanie doesn't know, so let's pretend we don't. Friends?" she inquired, holding out her hand.

Troy looked at her questioningly, but when he realized she wasn't kidding he took her hand and shook it.

He smiled, "Friends," he repeated.

Gabriella beamed as they continued to walk down the street. They talked about where their lives went during college, after and what they were doing now. Every now and then Gabriella would laugh at something Troy made a comment about, or playfully hit him in the shoulder. When they finally reached the photographers, Gabriella tried to pull the door open, but it wouldn't budge.

"Why isn't it opening?" she asked irritated, pulling on the door once more. She looked over at Troy, and saw that he was laughing.

"What's so funny?" she asked still trying to pry the door open. Troy finally came over and took her hands off the handle.

"Gabi, it says 'push'," he said still laughing and holding her hands. Gabriella felt the heat rush to her cheeks as she started to laugh at her stupidity.

"You know I've been coming here for two years and you would think I would know that you're supposed to push it," Gabriella said shaking her head.

Troy took one hand away and pushed it open. "Well, we all forget sometimes, or get distracted," he said with a smirk on.

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Oh yes, that must have been it. I got distracted," she said sarcastically.

Troy smiled as Gabriella brushed past him and into the room. He followed her as she walked up to a room and knocked on the door. A few seconds later, the door flew open and a woman in her mid sixties appeared. The woman smiled, and quickly ushered Troy and Gabriella inside. They both sat at a table next to each other, while the woman sat across them holding a portfolio.

"Good to see you again, Gabriella," the woman greeted as she sat down.

Gabriella smiled brightly. "Good to see you too Evelyn," she replied.

"Now, what can I do for you?" she asked, taking out samples of photography that was available.

"Well, we need color photos and a photographer," Gabriella stated plainly.

Evelyn sighed and gave Gabriella a look. "Gabriella, you know that can be expensive. You know the prices," she said.

"Evelyn, I know for a fact that you gave a very cheap price to the Jefferson's, and their wedding planner wasn't even a frequent customer. I come in here all too often, getting you more and more clients. Can you do the same for a very hard working wedding planner in your office right now?" Gabriella asked trying to persuade Evelyn.

Evelyn made a face of uncertainty, but then gave in. "Oh, okay. But only this once and I'm only doing it because I like you. And do you mind if I say something?" she asked Gabriella, looking at her and Troy.

Troy and Gabriella nodded, waiting for her to say something as she studied them. "You know, I deal with a lot of different people, and I saw you two before you came in. You both look beyond doubt in love and happy. I can tell you're both going to make it out there," she said happily.

Gabriella and Troy both looked away from each other, both feeling a blush run up their necks to their faces.

"Evelyn, we're not getting married, I am actually-" Gabriella attempted but Troy interrupted.

"She's my best friend," Troy interjected.

Gabriella stared at him in shock as Evelyn spoke.

"Best friends? Oh, well I knew it was something, because I could tell that you two are really close to each other," she said still with a smile.

Troy grinned. "Yes, we are fairly close," he said as he looked at Gabriella.

Gabriella smiled back, but then broke the intensifying gaze. She returned to Evelyn, and quickly spoke. "Thank you for the fantastic deal and I will be here next week to arrange the photographer," Gabriella said as she stood up and shook hands with Evelyn.

Evelyn smiled and showed them the way out. Once they were outside, Gabriella and Troy started to walk back to restaurant to get their cars. For most of the walk, Gabriella remained quiet in her own thoughts thinking about what Evelyn had said. '_In love and happy? Am I still in love with him? If I am, is that obvious? Does that mean that he is and he was showing it too?'_ she thought as she walked beside Troy.

"Are you okay?" he asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.

Gabriella stopped and looked up at him, searching his blue eyes. "Yeah, I'm all right," she answered still looking in his eyes. He returned the gaze, looking in her deep brown ones. Gabriella then bit her lip and started to walk again.

"Are you sure?" he asked as he caught up with her.

Gabriella nodded. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" she asked.

Troy shrugged. "I don't know, it just seems like ever since we walked out of the photographers you've been very quiet," he said.

"It's nothing really, I was just thinking about what you said," Gabriella replied.

"Me? About us being best friends?" he inquired.

She continued to walk. "Yeah, that," she said.

He stopped her, and made her look up at him. "Gabriella, you are one of my greatest and best friends. Just because we haven't talked to each other in a while doesn't change that fact," he said holding her chin up.

Gabriella sighed and looked down at her sandals. "I know, it was just a shock to hear you say it after so many years," she replied.

Troy laughed as he and Gabriella started to walk down the street together again. "Yes, well it was a shock to see you again," he stated.

Gabriella smiled. "I hope it was a good shock."

Troy looked down at her. "Yes, it was definitely a good shock," he said smiling.

"Good, I'm glad. It was nice to see you again too," she said reaching the restaurant parking lot.

Troy reached his car and turned around. "Well, I guess I will see you tomorrow. Actually speaking of tomorrow, what are we doing?" he asked leaning on his car.

Gabriella thought, and decided that they should do flowers. "Flowers," she answered simply.

Troy raised his eyebrows. "Flowers," he repeated.

She started to giggle. "Yes, you know, plants?" she asked still giggling.

"I know what they are," he said matter-of-factly, "but shouldn't you do that with Melanie?" he asked.

Gabriella cocked her head to the side. "Well, we already know that she like lilies, so it shouldn't be that hard," she replied.

"Oh, all right. Flowers it is. I'll pick you up at five o'clock? Chad wants to 'go out and talk' tomorrow, so I should be done by then. Does that sound good?" he asked.

"Yeah, that's fine. Do you need my address?" she inquired taking out a piece of paper and pen.

"Yes, that would be helpful," he responded.

Gabriella chuckled as she wrote down her address and phone number. She gave it to him and smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow then?" she asked.

He nodded and grinned. "Bye, Gabi," he said as he hugged her. Gabriella hugged back, smiled and started to walk towards her car. Once she got in the drivers seat, she grinned and watched Troy pull out of the parking lot. She secretly couldn't wait until tomorrow, but her mind kept wandering back to what Evelyn said. Now that she thought about it, maybe she was still in love with Troy Bolton.

----

**Author's Note: Whoa, another long chapter. I thought this chapter was sort of cute in some parts…and I bet all of you are happy that Melanie is gone for a couple of chapters. Hehe. Well anyway, I hope you like this chapter, I worked really, really hard and long on this one. Next chapter should be up soon! Please review! Thanks!**


	7. Among Daises & Disturbances

**Author's Note: Thank you once again for all the lovely reviews! I really love them. Anyway, here's the next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical. Although I wouldn't mind Zac Efron. –wink wink-**

**----**

"You wanted to, uh, how was it you put it? 'Sit by the fireplace and chat like good old lads?'" Troy shouted out coming into Chad's rented apartment.

Chad had rented an apartment nearby, because he was considering moving her after the wedding. There were boxes everywhere, but there was enough stuff out to occupy him for a couple of weeks before the rest of his things were sent. The apartment was fairly small, but the perfect size for Chad. It had two bedrooms, a small kitchen, a living room and tiny dining room. Troy looked around, and found him sitting on the couch in front of the television watching Friends reruns. Troy looked at him oddly, but Chad continued to watch the television.

"Chad?" Troy asked, waving a hand in front of his face.

Chad ignored it, his eyes glued to the screen. Troy sighed, and the looked around the room. He found a piece styrofoam on a kitchen counter, picked it up and chucked it at his head. It hit its target, getting a very frustrated Chad turning around. When he saw Troy, his face softened. "Oh, it's only you. I thought you were one of those mover people who want to convince me to buy them a pizza," he replied standing up and walking towards him.

Troy rolled his eyes as he sat at the little breakfast bar in Chad's kitchen. Chad stood on the opposite side, and leaned on his elbows to look at Troy.

"So, what are you going to do?" he asked plainly.

Troy looked at Chad like he was insane. "What are you talking about?"

Chad sighed loudly, and then stood up straight. "I think you know. I mean come on, if _I_ can see it, I'm pretty sure it's obvious," he answered.

"Okay, you and I must have switched bodies or something then because I really have no idea what you're talking about," Troy said confused.

Chad rolled his eyes and let his hands drop down to the counter top. "Gabriella, you dolt! What are you going to do?" he asked.

Troy just mouthed 'oh,' before looking down at his hands. "What about her?" he asked stupidly.

Chad looked at Troy with an skeptical look. "Don't pretend like you don't know. You still love her. Admit it. Admit it to me now, so we can pretend to act like adults and get to the root of the problem here," Chad said.

Troy stared in shock at Chad. "Since when do you want to act like an adult?" he asked laughing slightly.

Chad just scowled. "Shut up. That's not the point. Say it, Troy. Tell me you still love Gabriella."

Troy sighed and took an interest in the counter's tiles. "I can't," he replied.

Chad gave Troy a sympathetic look. "Yes, you can, Troy. You play basketball in front of millions of people, but you're telling me you can't say you love someone?" Chad inquired.

"You know what I mean. And there's really nothing to do, is there?" Troy responded looking up at Chad.

"What do you mean, 'there's really nothing to do?' Of course there is! And it's simple: Do not marry Melanie," Chad said slowly at the last part.

Troy switched his gaze from his hands up to his friend. "I can't just not marry Melanie. I mean, what would I say? 'Sorry, but I found my high school sweetheart again, let's just break up?' And I don't even know if she still loves me. Hell, I don't even know if she has a boyfriend!" Troy exclaimed.

"She doesn't have a boyfriend," Chad said simply.

"And how do you know that? For all I know she could be going out with that guy she danced with at the wedding she showed us," Troy replied.

Chad pulled up a chair and sat across from his confused friend. "Well, believe it or not, I talked to Taylor yesterday. We caught up, and she was telling me about Gabriella's life lately. Trust me; she doesn't have a boyfriend," Chad said leaning back in his chair.

Troy sighed and let his head fall back. "It still leaves the problems of Melanie and if she still has feelings for me," he reasoned.

Chad chuckled. "No, you just have one problem. Gabriella loves you; it's obvious. She did in high school, why would she stop? Did you really think feelings that strong would go away over time? If you need proof, why don't you try actually _paying attention to her actions? _You told me last night that she wanted to 'pretend' that you two never had a relationship. That obviously means that she wants to forget about it so that feelings won't get in the way of her job. If she didn't have a problem with it, she would have never said those things, but because she's afraid that old feelings may return, she did say them,_" _he said with a smile of accomplishment.

Troy studied his friend's face before speaking. "You _did_ talk to Taylor yesterday," he said in surprise.

"Yeah, did you really think that I would come up with that by myself? Of course I added some parts, so you can give me some credit," he responded, "but the point is she loves you. Your only problem is Melanie."

Troy put his hands behind his head and yawned. "That could be just a tad bit difficult to handle," he said sarcastically.

Chad looked at his watch. "We'll deal with that later. It's 4:45, don't you have to pick her up at five? For right now, just forget that Melanie even exists. Pretend it's not your wedding you're helping to plan. You do realize it's only you and her?" he asked.

Troy stood up and stretched. "Yeah, I know it's only us. I'll call you later," he replied as he started to walk towards the door. Chad waved goodbye and wished him luck as he got in his car and drove off in the direction of Gabriella's house.

----

"Hey," Gabriella said breathlessly as she opened her door and stepped out. She was dressed much more causally this time; she was wearing jeans and a red long sleeved shirt with sneakers.

"Hi," he replied with a smile as she locked her door and walked down to the car together. "Where is the flower place?" he shouted as she went to one side of the car and he the other.

"It's on Fifth Avenue," she responded as she climbed in the front seat.

Troy nodded as he put his seat belt on and started the engine. On their way there, they joked around together, making each other laugh. Troy kept in mind what Chad had said earlier, and tried to pay attention to Gabriella's actions. When they finally pulled up to George's Florist, they got out of the car and walked in swiftly.

"Whoa," Troy said when they entered the shop. There was about twenty different aisles all filled with flowers. Gabriella trotted away to an aisle, and started looking around a certain spot loaded with white flowers. Troy guessed they were lilies, because they were exactly as Melanie described them the day before. Troy walked cautiously up to Gabriella, and started to look at the flowers she was gazing at. Feeling someone over her shoulder, Gabriella turned her head and saw Troy staring at the flowers. When he saw that she acknowledged his presence, he twisted his head so that they were looking at each other. Gabriella looked up him for a moment, but then broke the gaze and continued to look around and write things down on her pad.

Troy sighed and walked to the other side of the aisle, looking at another type of flower. They were daises, white long petals with yellow in the middle of them. He smiled; he remembered whenever Gabriella was sad or sick, he would buy her a bouquet of daises to cheer her up. They always worked too; Gabriella would grin and then give him a huge hug and kiss. Troy was snapped back to reality when Gabriella asked him a sudden question.

"Okay, Mr. Listener, I got down the lilies she wants. We'll browse around for something you think she will like. Does that sound good?" she asked with a bright smile on.

Troy returned the smile. "Yeah, that sounds great."

"Okay, let's start over here," she said pointing to a stack of carnations. They were in many colors, from pink to dark blue. Gabriella picked some out, and then smelled them. She then pulled her face away, and turned to Troy.

"What do you think of these? They're pretty, small and not to distracting," she suggested.

Troy looked at it for a moment, and then shook his head. "Nah, they're too small," he said putting his hand on one of the polls in the middle of the aisle to lean on.

Gabriella smiled and put the flower back. She continued to go down the aisle, and then set her eyes on some roses.

"Roses?" she asked with her eyebrows raised, "they're simple, every girl loves them, and perfect for weddings," Gabriella tried.

Again, Troy shook his head. "Too expensive," he replied.

Gabriella rolled her eyes playfully, but still proceeded to look at more and new flowers. After a couple minutes of searching, she bent down and brought back up an appealing red flower.

"What about petunias?" she asked hopefully, holding the flower out to him.

Troy grinned and took the flower, but when he smelt it, he made a face of disgust. "Nah, they smell weird," he said throwing the flower back with it's group.

Gabriella laughed and then let her arms drop to her sides. "What do you want then?" she asked.

He grinned, and then took his hand of the poll. Troy began to move slowly to Gabriella. "I like daises," he said.

She bit her lip and her face grew nervous as Troy came closer to her. "You used to give those to me," she said softly, so soft that it was barely audible.

Troy was now standing inches away from Gabriella. "I know," he whispered. They stood located so incredibly close to each other that they could both feel the heat coming from the other person's body. Gabriella took in a quick breath as Troy's hand flew up to her cheek and caressed it softly. Troy wanted nothing more than to kiss her, but at the same time he didn't want to break the gaze between the two. Gabriella bit her lip as Troy finally leaned in.

The events that then happened were very ill-timed and down right embarrassing. Some customer, a middle aged customer with apparently no timing or coordination, chose this moment to open the door and fall flat on his face, causing his groceries to fall over the place. Gabriella and Troy jumped apart, and looked at the man who was now splattered across the floor. Gabriella ran to help him, picking up fruit that had scattered across the floor.

"Oh, thank you Miss," the man said, taking the fruit from Gabriella's hands. Gabriella smiled and helped the man up. Troy smiled, Gabriella was always kind, even to people she didn't know. Once he thanked her again, he left for another aisle and Gabriella turned around. She began to walk towards her bag that had dropped and was abandoned before, and took out her pad.

"You said you wanted daises?" she asked, not looking up at Troy.

"Yeah," he replied, his voice cracking horribly.

Gabriella took a deep breath and wrote it down. "Okay, that's good. I think we're ready to go," she said as she picked up her bag.

Troy sighed and nodded. "Sounds good," he said lamely while throwing up his keys and catching them.

Gabriella gave a slight smile as she and Troy walked out of the shop. While they were in the car, there was a awkward silence through out the whole ride. As Gabriella sat in the front seat, she thought about what had almost happened. '_What am I doing? He's getting married! I can't kiss a man who's about to get married! I must be crazy,' _She thought. When they finally reached Gabriella's apartment, Troy got out and raced to the other side of the car to open the door for her. Gabriella laughed softly and quietly as he held out his hand to help her out.

"Troy, you don't have to do that," she said quietly.

Troy grinned. "Oh, but I do," he replied as they walked towards her apartment building.

They walked up the stairs in silence, and as Gabriella reached her door, she turned around. "It was nice, today. I'll call you tomorrow," she said as she gave him a quick hug.

Troy wanted to hold on to her a little longer, but that fantasy was shattered when she pulled away. He took a deep breath as he saw her twist around and unlock her door. Before she went in, he broke the silence.

"Do you ever think about that promise?" he asked suddenly, making Gabriella turn around in her doorway.

"What?" she asked, almost dropping her keys.

"The promise we made, in high school," he said coming closer.

Gabriella bit her lip, and leaned against the door as she felt tears form behind her eyes.

"Troy, please don't," Gabriella said pleadingly.

"I know I do. I know I think about it each and everyday, and night. I don't know what you've been doing for the past couple of years, I don't know how many guys you dated, and I really don't know how you became a wedding planner. But I do know that I feel like an idiot for not keeping in touch," he replied, still walking nearer to her.

Gabriella took a deep breath as she looked down. She gulped, and then looked back up into those piercing blue eyes.

"Why would you Troy? She's perfect. Beautiful, straight long hair, stunning blue eyes, she has the ideal job. Why would you think about me? I'm just a wedding planner, and a high school sweetheart of an unavailable man. Melanie is a good person, and she loves you. So, besides your flower preference, that's all I need to know. Please go away," Gabriella said as she shut the door.

As soon as Gabriella shut the door, she collapsed on the floor, tears falling from her eyes. She knew she had done the right thing for Melanie and the company, but did she do that right thing for herself? Was the partner offer really worth it? Gabriella's thoughts tumbled around in her head as tears continued to fall. After thinking about it as she cried beside her door, she knew one thing she would do tomorrow; she was going to give the wedding to Cindy.

----

**Author's Note: Okay, what do you think? Tell me what you think in a review please. Was it terrible? Horrible? Good? Okay? Poor? Please review! Thanks!**


	8. Of Mistakes & Invitations

**Author's Note: I am soo sorry for the wait on this chapter. It took me awhile to get back into writing after my dad took me on a surprise vacation type thing. Anyway, here's the next chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical.**

**----**

Troy closed his eyes and sighed as Gabriella closed the door softly. He knew he had just crushed everything; everything that they could have had in a relationship, even if it was only and purely just friends. He marched down the stairs hopelessly, lost in his own thoughts. He felt stupid for almost kissing her; although deep down he knew he really had wanted to. And it felt like she wanted to also, but the timing was off. Way off. _'Of course that man just **had** to come in at that particular moment,' _Troy thought bitterly. He then groaned as he got in his car and started off in the direction of his hotel. He was staying in the Hilton, because no one from his family lived here, or from Melanie's. Chad just moved in; there was no room set up or ready for guests. Throughout the drive, Troy was mentally hitting himself for his foolishness.

"What is wrong with me?" he asked himself out loud, hoping that something would answer for him. When nothing did, he moaned and pulled into the parking lot of his hotel. Troy stumbled out of his car, startled of his vibrating cell phone that was in his pocket. He took it out, and answered it without looking at the caller ID.

"Hello?" he asked while shutting the car door.

"Baby! Where have you been? I've been trying to call you all day!" Melanie screeched on the other line.

Troy took his free hand and rubbed his eyes. "Sorry, I was planning with Gabriella," he replied.

"Oh, I see. Did you tell her everything that we wanted?" she asked sweetly.

"Yeah, I think so," he responded cautiously while entering the lobby.

He heard Melanie giggle on the other line. "What did you two finish?" she asked.

"Uh, we got photographers and we picked flowers," he said, although his voice faltered at he last part, reliving the memory with him and him and Gabriella.

Melanie gasped. "Flowers? Which ones did you pick?" she asked excitedly.

Troy stepped into the elevator. "Lilies and daisies," he replied quietly.

"Daises? Why would you pick daises? Oh well, I guess we can't change it now. Anyway, I'm thinking that if we're having the wedding pretty soon, we need to design the invitations. Obviously I can't design them because I'm here, so could you make up a sketch or something tonight?" she inquired.

Troy's face grew with confusion. "Wait, you want _me_ to design invitations?" he asked surprised.

Melanie giggled. "Yes, silly. It doesn't have to be beautiful, I'm sure Gabriella can fix it if it's horrible," she replied.

Troy sighed. "Melanie that seems sort of like a girly thing to do," he proclaimed.

"Troy, I know I'm asking a lot, but can you please just do this for me? I can't do anything, because I'm stuck in here California. I still don't know how long he wants me here. Please, can you just do this?" she pleaded.

"Fine, I'll design the invitations," he said defeated as he walked out of the elevator onto his floor.

Melanie had squealed so loud that it caused Troy to hold the phone away from his ear, and a by-passer to look at him strangely. Troy managed a weak smile, before getting his key out and entering his room.

"Thank you, Troy! You are the best fiancée that anyone could ever ask for!" she shrieked.

"Yeah, yeah," Troy replied, now flopping down on his bed.

"So sweetheart how was your day?" she asked suddenly calmed down.

Troy closed his eyes and sighed. "It was…interesting," he concluded.

"Interesting?" she repeated, "how so?"

He let out a laugh. "Long story," he answered. There was no way he was going to tell her what had exactly happened.

"Okay," she replied, obviously not convinced. "I miss you," she said breathlessly.

"I miss you too," he repeated, though his voice held less emotion.

Obviously hearing the lack of emotion, she asked, "Troy, are you okay?"

Troy sat up on his bed. "Of course I'm okay, why wouldn't I be?" he asked.

He heard Melanie sigh on the other line. "I don't know, you seem sort of different," she said softly.

"I'm sorry, I just have a lot of things on my mind," he replied, standing up and looking out his window.

"You can tell me, you know. That's one of the reasons why I'm here, Troy. To talk to," she said interested.

Troy sighed. "It's nothing I really want to talk about at the moment. Mel, I'm pretty tired, so I'll do the invitations now. I'll call you tomorrow," he responded, playing with the curtains.

Melanie let out a long sigh. "Okay, if you say so. I love you," she rang into the phone.

He swallowed, searching for the words. "I love you too," he choked out, hoping he sounded genuine.

"Bye," Melanie answered a little suspiciously.

Troy let out a sigh of relief as closed his phone. When and why had it become so hard for him to say 'I love you' to Melanie? Last week he said it to her, and he meant it. Or at least he thought he did.

"What is happening to me?" he asked out loud. He let out a frustrated sigh and sat down at the small round table in his room. He grabbed a piece of paper, and started to doodle invitation ideas. Most of them were pathetic, as Troy had a full waste basket full of crumpled paper. After awhile he finally did one he actually liked and considered, but as he looked closer his eyes widened as to what he wrote.

_You are cordially invited to witness _

_The joining in Holy Matrimony_

_Of Troy Alexander Bolton_

_And Gabriella Anne Montez_

_On the 4th of June_

_Two thousand fourteen_

_Precisely at nine o'clock…_

Troy gaped at what he had written minutes before. He quickly threw the piece of paper at the end of the table, shocked. He shook his head, and then swiftly grasped another piece and copied what he had written before, except this time, he wrote Melanie's name. He sighed, got up from his seat and look at the clock. The bright, red lights flashed, '9:56'. He groaned and changed into his pajamas, falling back onto his bed in a deep sleep without even getting beneath the covers.

----

The next morning, Troy woke up to the sound of his cell phone ringing. He looked at the clock, and saw that it was past noon. He cursed loudly, and then jumped up to get his phone.

"Hello?" he asked quickly, trying to regain his balance after almost tripping over the wastebasket.

"Hi, Troy?" a quiet voice asked. Troy knew that voice anywhere.

"Yeah, it's me Gabriella," he answered, a smile etching up on his lips.

"Oh, well, um what time do you want to meet today? I have a couple of things we could do," she replied.

"Uh, is one o'clock okay?" Troy asked rifling though his suitcase.

"Yeah, one is good. Meet me in my office, okay?" she asked confident.

"Sure, oh, and Melanie made me design the invitations last night, do you want me to bring it?" he inquired, not paying attention to how many things he was throwing out of his suitcase.

"Yeah, bring it. Well, I'll see you soon?" she asked.

"Yeah," Troy replied.

"Okay, see you later," she said as he shut his phone.

Troy raced into the bathroom, turned on the water and got into the shower. Once he was done, he quickly threw on a shirt and jeans, snatched an invitation off the table and bolted out the door.

----

**EARLIER THAT MORNING**

Gabriella walked briskly around her building, clutching the very thick folder to her chest. Her long legs took her across the hallways as fast as they would take her, aching a bit after she stopped abruptly at a door. Gabriella knocked loudly, and entered when she heard a voice yell for her to come in.

She burst through the door, and rushed to Cindy's desk.

"Cindy! Take the wedding, I can't take it," Gabriella said breathlessly as she slammed the folder down on her desk. Cindy opened the folder, and saw the names Troy Bolton and Melanie Dashsend on the first paper. She looked back up at Gabriella.

"Why? The rule is you have to take a wedding unless…" Cindy stopped in mid-sentence, and then looked up at Gabriella with an eager expression.

"You're in love with the groom?" she asked all excited standing up.

Gabriella looked away and sighed. "That's not the point, Cindy! Just take the wedding, take the partner offer, and let me mope around in peace," Gabriella grumbled.

Cindy looked at Gabriella with sympathy. "Gabriella, I'm not taking this wedding. You started it, you finish it," she said closing the folder.

Gabriella snapped her head up at Cindy. "What? I know you want the partner position, so take it!" Gabriella exclaimed.

Cindy sighed and walked around the desk. "Yes, but I don't deserve it. You do, Gabriella. You work your butt off just to make sure that not a single flower or piece of confetti is out of place. You make everyone's dreams in love come true," she replied, leaning on her desk.

"It still leaves my problem," Gabriella shot, "I broke the rule. I can't take it."

A smile wretched its way onto Cindy's face. "So you are in love with Troy Bolton?" she asked smirking.

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "We are not having this conversation. Thank you for all that you said about me working my butt off, but you need to take this wedding," Gabriella retorted.

Fed up, Cindy stood up straight and slammed her hands to her sides. "You cannot let this guy ruin your career! You worked so hard for this! And now you're going to let a guy who walked back into your life ruin it for you? I don't think so!" Cindy cried.

Gabriella looked up at Cindy in astonishment. Cindy had a blazing look in her eyes, and Gabriella could tell she was being serious. She thought about it and then realized Cindy was right. She wasn't going to let her emotions get to her, or in the way of her career. She could do this.

"You know what? You're right. I can plan this wedding! And I will! I'll treat him like every other person I've dealt with! Because I can do this! And because I'm a damn professional!" she shouted as she took the folder back in her arms.

Cindy smiled. "Good job. Now go call him and plan!" Cindy ordered as Gabriella marched out of the room. She strolled down the hallways, swiftly moving in and out of people's way. When she reached her office, she opened the door and walked behind her desk. She let the folder drop onto her desk as she picked up the phone and called Troy.

She made plans with him; he was to be here at one o'clock, a half hour away. She sighed as she grew impatient, since Troy had done the invitations; she felt there was no need to do anything else today. From Troy's artistic abilities, she knew there would have to be some edits and changes to them. She put her head in her hands, thinking about the previous night. After Troy had left, all she could think about was him. She thought about high school memories, what had almost happened at the florist, but she mainly thought about how she _wanted_ it to happen. She spent the night crying quietly, not bothering to call Taylor. She looked a mess; her hair was pulled back into a black headband, letting her curls out of control dangle on her back. She put on little make-up, and she was dressed in black pants and a simple grey top.

She was starting to doze off when someone entered her office. She looked up, and saw Troy standing in her doorway. She straightened her position, ready to not let her feelings get the best of her.

"H-hi Troy," she stammered out as she stood.

Troy smiled faintly and sat in one of the chairs. "Hey Gabi," he replied as he sat down.

"So, you said you had an invitation idea?" she asked, getting straight to business.

He nodded and fumbled in his pants pocket, and then pulled out a folded piece of paper. He handed it over to her, their hands making contact. Gabriella felt a shock, causing her to take in a quick breath. She quickly closed her mouth and took the paper. She opened it carefully, and looked at the drawing. It was appealing; it had a red border and grayish handwriting. She didn't bother to read the handwritten parts; usually they were all the same. She put the paper down and looked at Troy.

"That's really great, Troy. I think Melanie would love it," she said smiling.

"Thanks," he replied with a smile.

She placed the invitation aside, and asked Troy what he wanted to do for centerpieces. They continued to talk about this for awhile, before deciding that they would be pink candles with lilies around the perimeter. Gabriella also brought up the issue of tuxedoes and dresses. Troy said that his groomsmen were flying out in a week, and that they would go for a fitting when they came. She nodded and wrote it down, as Troy looked at his watch.

"It's four o'clock already," he said surprised.

Gabriella snapped her head up. "Four o'clock?" she repeated.

Troy nodded meekly as Gabriella's eyes widened. She then grabbed the invitation that Troy did and turned to him.

"This is the one you want?" she asked.

"Yeah, if that's okay," he answered.

Gabriella stood up. "Of course it's okay. I need to get it to publisher though, before leaves for the week," she replied.

"Well, then I guess we'll call it a day?" Troy asked as he stood up also.

"Yeah, I guess so. Tomorrow we'll probably arrange the church and reception locations," she answered walking towards the door.

Before she reached the door handle, Troy reached out and grabbed her hand. She whipped her head around, and looked at him questionably.

"Gabriella, I'm sorry for last night," he said sincerely.

Her expression softened when she realized what he was talking about. "It's okay, Troy," she answered softly.

He smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow," he replied as they walked out together.

"Bye," Gabriella said as they walked in separate directions. She bounced down the hallway, stopping at the publisher's door.

"Mary?" Gabriella asked as she stepped in the room.

"Yes?" a pudgy, brunette woman answered.

Gabriella smiled as she walked towards her desk. "Before you leave, can you make at least 100 copies of this?" she asked holding out the paper.

Mary took it, and looked at carefully. "Sure, I'll edit it on my computer, so it doesn't have all the crease marks," she answered, "I'll drop them off to your office when they're done."

"Thank you," Gabriella grinned as she walked out. She made her way back to her office, and sat back behind her desk. She put all of her notes into one pile, and stuffed them into a new folder. Gabriella placed the folder on top of her monitor, and then yawned. She let her head fall onto her desk, where after a couple of minutes she fell into a light sleep.

----

"Gabriella!" Jaime roared into her office.

She snapped her head up, cracking her neck in the process. "Yes?" she asked wearily. She looked over at her clock, it was 5:30.

"So, I see you're getting married to Troy Bolton, now?" Jamie asked angrily as she headed into her office.

"What are you talking about?" Gabriella asked puzzled, massaging her neck.

Jamie huffed and threw down a bunch of invitations on her desk. "Apparently, you're getting married to Troy Bolton according to this invitation!" she bellowed.

Gabriella slowly picked on up, and read its contents.

_You are cordially invited to witness _

_The joining in Holy Matrimony_

_Of Troy Alexander Bolton_

_And Gabriella Anne Montez_

Her mouth dropped open; she didn't even bother to read what the invitation said! Though behind the shock, she smiled; Troy was the one who made the invitation. She was snapped out of her happy moment by Jamie's yelling.

"Gabriella, now we have 100 invitations with the wrong name! And Mary just left for the week. What are you going to do?" she asked breathlessly.

Gabriella put the invitation down, and looked up at Jamie. "We'll get it done by another publisher."

Jamie's expression softened. "Fine, do what you need to do. I don't care how, just do it," she said as she left Gabriella's office in a huff.

Gabriella looked back at the invitation as soon as Jamie left the room. She swallowed as she looked at Troy's name and her name beside each other. Maybe treating him like all the other people she has dealt with will be a little bit harder than she thought.

----

**Author's Note: I'm not really happy with this chapter. I tried to write it differently at least four times, and this is what I came up with. I'm not entirely happy, though I will try to get the next chapter up real soon. Please review! Thanks!**


	9. Nocturnal Doctors & Freaky Imposters

**Author's Note: I am sorry I took so long to update. It's a long story, but let's just say it involves my brother and the hospital. Okay, well anyway here's the next chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I don't High School Musical.**

**----**

"I am _so_ embarrassed," Troy confessed as he and Gabriella walked into the publishers.

Gabriella chuckled as she saw him blush furiously. "Don't worry about it, Troy. You were probably distracted," Gabriella replied.

Troy let Gabriella walk in front of him, leading him towards a room. "Yeah, distracted," he mumbled so only he could hear. Gabriella had called him earlier, and told him about the invitation incident. Troy immediately felt like an idiot when he in fact saw the correction invitation on the table. Now they were at another publisher, since the one the agency left for the week. They came upon double doors, and Gabriella pushed through them forcefully. In the next room, there were about twenty desks, all facing the front of the room. When she entered, all the heads snapped up.

"Oh, hi Gabriella," one of them in front said happily, but frowned when he saw Troy.

Gabriella put on a fake smile. "Hey Jake, I'm here with my client, Troy," she introduced, making a hand gesture to Troy.

Jake smiled and took Troy's hand. Troy noticed that Jake's expression lightened when Gabriella said he was just a client.

"I have something for you," she said as she sat in front of his desk. Jake had short black hair, and brown eyes. Troy followed suit and sat in the chair next to her.

Jake grinned at Gabriella. "Well, I always knew you would come back to me," he said seductively.

Troy noticed that she grimaced a bit, but continued. "Not like that, I need you to publish something for me," she proclaimed.

Jake leaned back in his chair and made a face. "What do you need me to publish?" he asked.

"100 wedding invitations," she replied simply.

"100? Gabriella, you do know that I have special prices," he answered wiggling his eyebrows.

Gabriella rolled her eyes and gave a face of disgust. "For God's sake you're married!" she exclaimed.

Jake sent her a glare. "That's because _you_ broke up with me," he snapped.

"Yes, because you were cheating on me! Which I see is a quality that you haven't lost," she retorted back, her voice cracking.

Jake narrowed his eyes. "I told you she was just a friend! She didn't mean anything to me!" he shouted. People in the room were starting to look up from their desks, taking more interest in Gabriella and Jake's argument rather than their own work. Gabriella was now standing over Jake's desk, tears forming on the edge of her eye lids. Troy was still in his seat, stunned at the sight that was taking place before him.

Gabriella scoffed. "That's really promising, Jake. You married a woman that doesn't mean anything to you. Never mind about the invitations, I can get them published by someone who isn't a cheating prick," Gabriella shot while taking Troy's hand and leading him out of the publishers. As they were walking out, they heard Jake trying to convince her to come back, but Gabriella kept walking straight ahead. She felt a tear escape her eye, and soon her vision was blurry from teardrops wanting to fall down onto her face. Gabriella walked out of the building and outside, but only to find that it had started raining. She stood on the sidewalk, under the extended roof top.

"Hey," Troy said softly as he saw a tear drip down her cheek. Gabriella didn't say anything, but just let the tears continue to fall. He pulled her to him and wiped the tears that were dripping down her face.

"It's okay," he whispered comfortingly, trying to calm her down. It did no good though, because then Gabriella broke down in sobs. He drew her closer to him; her face was now buried in his chest. Troy wrapped his arms around her, and he felt her breathing start to become normal again. She took a deep, shaky breath and pulled away.

"I'm sorry for crying like this, it just-" Gabriella stopped in mid-sentence, and looked down. "It just brings back memories that I've tried hard to forget, and when he brought it up again, I just couldn't take it," she replied, wiping her eyes on her sleeve.

"Are you okay?" Troy asked carefully, concern filling his voice.

She heaved in a breath, her chest moving up and down slowly. "Lisa," she mumbled, sitting on the ground against the wall.

"Sorry?" he inquired, not understanding what she meant.

"Lisa was her name. He was supposed to take me out one night. When he didn't pick me up when he said he would, I got a little worried. After about an hour with no contact, I drove to his apartment. When I came in, I saw them. They were, well-" Gabriella told Troy but he interjected at the last part.

"I think I know what happens next," Troy said as he sat next to her on the sidewalk.

Gabriella nodded and looked down at the ground. "I really haven't dated since then, which was three years ago," she grumbled.

Troy sent her a look of sympathy, but she couldn't see it because she kept her face hidden. Suddenly, Troy had an idea.

"Hey, let's not do work today. Let's do something else," he suggested as he stood up and held a hand out to her.

Gabriella looked up at him questionably. "Something else?" she repeated, taking his hand and standing up.

Troy nodded. "Yep, something that's not work related. You're stressed, so we're taking a break," he replied with a smile as he started making way to the car. Gabriella laughed quietly as she followed.

----

"Hello?" Taylor asked, answering her home phone, stepping away from her bubbling soup on the stove.

"Hey Taylor," Chad greeted happily.

Taylor felt a smile creep up upon her lips. "Hi, what's up?" she asked jovially.

She heard him chuckle on the other line. "Nothing too much, but I think we need to talk about Troy and Gabriella," he said.

Taylor put down her ladle. "Yeah, I think so also. You go first," she responded, leaning back on her kitchen sink.

"Troy left his phone here last night, and well he got a voice mail. Me being me, I checked it. It was from Melanie. She's coming back tomorrow, and with her parents," Chad informed her with slight disappointment in his voice.

Taylor groaned and let her head fall back. "Tomorrow? We're never going to get the back together with things at this rate. Especially with this Jeremy guy butting in also," she replied.

"Jeremy? Who?" Chad asked confused.

"Yeah, that's my part I need to tell you. When Gabriella left before, Jeremy left a voice mail also, when I was still in her apartment. Basically it said he wants to go out with her on a date," she answered, now stirring her soup.

Chad let out a long sigh. "Well, this is just fantastic," he said sarcastically.

Taylor let out a laugh. "Yeah, you can say that again."

"Wait, you said he left a voice mail?" he asked slowly.

Taylor had a confused look on her face, but answered, "Yes."

She heard him snap his fingers in the background. "Okay, then it's simple; delete the message before she gets home," he suggested.

Taylor poured the soup into a bowl and walked over to her couch. "Delete it? Isn't that invading privacy?" she asked nervously.

Chad scoffed. "Like you already weren't when you listened to the message?" he inquired.

"Touché," she answered rolling her eyes, "but I don't know what time she'll be home."

"Then go now!" he exclaimed with urgency in his voice, "hurry!"

Taylor jumped at the loudness of his voice, causing her soup to go all over her shirt. She growled, and muttered some curse words under her breath. "Alright! And thanks for making me spill my soup all over my shirt," she answered irritated, walking over to her bathroom.

"Oh, sorry. But go now, delete it, and then call me when the task is complete," he answered all spy like. Taylor rolled her eyes, and continued to wipe off the soup.

"Yeah, sure," she replied plainly. She gave up on cleaning her shirt, and made her way into her bedroom.

"Talk to you soon," he said before hanging up the phone.

"Okay, bye," she replied clicking the 'end' button on her phone. Taylor changed her shirt, grabbed her pair of Gabriella's apartment keys, and bolted out the door.

----

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Troy said as he watched Gabriella pour another shot down her throat. "Now, when I said let's do something else, I didn't think you would take it this way," he continued with a slight smile on his lips. They decided to go to get something to eat, and Gabriella spotted a grill/bar. They both ate sufficient meals for dinner, but Gabriella wanted to stop at the bar for a drink. Troy obliged, but soon one drink turned into another, and then another until the point where she started to drink shots.

Gabriella grinned and reached for another one on the bar counter. Troy quickly took it out from her reach, causing her to stretch for it. She staggered and lost her balance on her stool, and started to fall forward, but Troy caught her before her chin hit his chair.

"Okay, I think you've had enough for tonight," he muttered as he helped her sit back up on the stool. He then turned to the bartender, and left out enough money for all the beverages they had.

"She going to be okay?" he asked, eyeing Gabriella.

Troy looked at her, and saw that her eyes started to droop, and her body was starting to lean to the side. Troy immediately went to her before she fell, and helped her off the chair. He then turned back to the bartender as he took her arm and placed it around his neck, while his arm held her up by her waist.

"Oh yeah, she'll be fine," he answered with a smile.

The bartender grinned back. "Have a good night," he said as they toddled out the door.

Troy walked with Gabriella to his car, and placed her gently in the passenger side. He looked at her before he shut the door, and moved a piece of hair that was in her face behind her ear. He smiled as he closed the door and climbed in the driver's seat. Troy drove quietly to Gabriella's apartment, because she had fallen asleep. When they pulled up to the building, Troy carefully nudged her awake.

"Gabi," he said softly as he opened the passenger door. Her eyes opened slowly, and then she turned her head and looked at Troy. She smiled slightly before she started to descend out of the side of the car. Luckily he stopped her, and brought her out of the car into the sultry night towards her apartment building.

"Okay, which one is your key?" he asked as he let go of her waist and started looking at her keys.

Gabriella didn't answer and walked over to the wall. She slid down it carelessly and plopped down on the ground. She let her head fall back and hit the brick wall. Her eyes started to droop off again, and she wanted nothing more than to sleep. When Troy noticed this, he leant beside her and tried to keep her awake.

"Gabi," he said quietly. "Gabs, I need to you to tell me which one is your key," he said shaking the keys for her too see.

Gabriella looked at them warily, and then answered, "The one with the doggies and the moons."

Troy tore his eyes away from Gabriella and looked at the key chain. He saw no key with the pattern she described. He laughed slightly.

"Okay, you just sit there," he replied as he turned around and began to try keys in the main doorway. He was about through the fifth key when a familiar face opened the door.

"Taylor?" he asked, holding a hand in front of this face from the light.

"Troy?" she inquired equally confused, squinting at him on the ground. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

Troy stood fully up. "I'm here with Gabriella," he answered. "What about you?" he asked.

Taylor looked down at the ground. "I left some things in Gabriella's apartment. I was just picking them up," she replied. "Where is Gabriella?" she asked suddenly.

Troy smiled and moved to the side. Taylor squinted and saw a sleeping form of Gabriella against the wall. She chuckled. "She's drunk, isn't she?"

He put his hands up. "Basically," he answered laughing himself. "You want to help me carry her upstairs?" he asked heading over to Gabriella.

Just then a mischievous grin formed on her face. "You know what? Um, I just remembered, I have an appointment with my doctor, about um, a rash," she answered, keeping the door open.

Troy looked up at her with raised eyebrows. "At 10 o'clock?" he asked looking at his watch.

"Yeah, uh, he's nocturnal. Strange man, really. Anyway, honor's all yours. Oh, and her house key is the one with the red," she said as she wedged a stick in the door to keep it open. She then smiled and started to walk off. Troy looked after with a confused look on, but nonetheless picked Gabriella up off the ground bridal style and began to walk inside the apartment building. As he was walking up the stairs, she started to wake up. She looked up at who was holding her, and she saw Troy. She smiled as she continued to watch him. Once he reached her door, he set her down on the floor, where she staggered a bit, but regained her balance. Troy opened the door with the key that Taylor told him. As expected, the door swung wide open. He grinned as he helped her inside.

Gabriella yawned while staggering into her apartment. She stumbled in the dark, and then plopped down on her couch. Troy flipped on a light as he heard a weak sob from the couch. He snapped his head in the direction of the couch and saw tears falling from Gabriella's chocolate brown eyes. Troy hurried to the sofa and sat next to her.

"What's wrong?" he asked, rubbing her back.

Gabriella shook her head. "Nothing, it's stupid," she replied swallowing.

Troy took her hand. "Nothing is stupid if it's making you upset," he replied.

Gabriella turned her head and looked in his cobalt blue eyes. She took a breath and then began to speak quietly. "Sometimes I just ask myself, if was adequate enough for him. If I passed his standard of women. And every time I think back to night where I found him, I apparently wasn't."

"Gabi, no. That's not true. He's an idiot. He doesn't know what he's missing," he replied as he wiped a tear away with his thumb.

Gabriella gave a slight smile and took a shaky breath. "Thanks," she muttered before enfolding her arms around him in a hug. He wrapped his arms around her waist and held her close. He liked the feeling of having her close to his body, feeling the heat of it against his. She pulled away and then rested her head on his chest.

"Troy, this might seem a little weird for me to be asking, but would you mind staying with me tonight? Not as your wedding planner, but as a friend?" she asked quietly.

He looked down at her, and saw her russet brown eyes. "Yeah, sure," he answered with a smile on. She grinned back and relaxed into his chest. He put an arm around her back and he felt her place her hand beside her face on his chest. Gabriella felt herself drift off to sleep peacefully in the arms of Troy Bolton.

----

**Author's Note: Okay, not the best chapter, but my family has been hectic lately with my older brother in the hospital and it's really late as I write this; I'm surprised I even had the energy to sit and write it. I hope it's okay, and I will try to get the next chapter up much sooner than this one took. Please review! It will make me feel better! Thanks!**


	10. Just Like High School

**Author's Note: Terribly sorry for the wait. My brother is okay; though most of you want to know what happened to him. Last Thursday, he was hit by a drunk driver. He's okay and well, and he's out of the hospital. I should be updating for often now. XD**

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical.**

**---**

Early next morning, Gabriella's eyes slowly flickered open. She blinked a few times, letting her eyes get used to the sunlight that was pouring in her apartment through the windows. When she finally opened them all the way, her brow furrowed in confusion. She realized she was not in her bed, but on the couch; and not only was she on top of the couch; she was on top of the body of someone else. Her eyes widened when she saw who it was. Then as she thought back to the previous night, all the memories came flooding back to her; seeing Jake, drinking, stumbling in the doorway…she remembered it all. She and Troy had shifted somewhat during the night; Gabriella's face was buried in his neck, while one arm was rested on his chest and the other around his neck. One of his hands was around her back, holding her close to his body, while the other was resting peacefully on his abdomen. Their legs were tangled together; one of her legs was on top of his, while the other was underneath them. Gabriella's breathing started to hitch; she hasn't been this close to Troy since high school. She knew she should probably get up, and start to get ready for work, but her body didn't want to oblige; she wanted to stay in the position for as long as she could.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, sniffing in his scent. She smiled; he smelt the same as he did in high school. She then looked up at his sleeping face; he looked so calm and peaceful. She then lowered her gaze to his chest, which was moving up and down as he took long, thorough breaths. Her finger then found its way tracing his stomach, weaving in and out of the lines his abs had formed. Gabriella then looked at his left hand, which was still resting on part of his stomach. She continued to sketch his abdomen, but gazed at his ring finger. A sudden feeling of sadness came upon her; she knew soon that finger would have a ring on it, promising him to another person. Her thoughts were then interrupted by a voice.

"Gabriella, what are you doing?" a hoarse voice asked.

She quickly looked at Troy, his eyes were now open, and kept looking down at her hand on his stomach. Gabriella swiftly stopped outlining his abdomen and tore her fingers away and behind her back as she felt the heat rise upon her cheeks.

"Oh, um, nothing. Do you want some breakfast?" Gabriella asked quickly, trying to get up out of the position they seemed to be caught in. She then tried to sit up, but their legs were too interwoven together and with the couch to really move. Troy had also been trying to shift around, because now he was sitting up with the right side of his body squishing Gabriella up against the couch. Both of them froze, trying to think what the best way was to get off the couch without hurting themselves. When they tried to move again, they both ended up clocking each other in the head. Gabriella chuckled nervously.

"Okay, well, um, how about you slide to the left and then I'll somehow crawl off behind you?" Gabriella suggested.

Troy looked at her with raised eyebrows. "Somehow crawl behind me? Gabi, why don't we just do this," he said as he took hold of Gabriella's waist. He then picked her up and moved her over a bit, as her hands grasped his shoulders for balance, not wanting to fall. This only helped for a minute or two though, because once one of her legs was about to touch the floor, she lost balance and tumbled to the ground, bringing Troy with her. Gabriella screamed as she fell, while Troy yelped in surprise when he was pulled down with her. Looking at each other, they realized they were in even a more awkward position. Gabriella had her back to the ground, while Troy was on top of her; their faces now closer than ever.

Troy's breath caught his throat as he looked into Gabriella's russet brown eyes. He swallowed; his hands felt like they were glued to her waist. He saw her bite her bottom lip nervously, as he did the same. He knew it was wrong to be thinking what he was, but he couldn't help how his feelings seemed to have some control over his brain; making him think and do things he normally wouldn't. Troy could feel her breaths become short paced, as they were so close he felt it on his neck. It sent unpleasant chills down his spine; but at the same time he liked it. Just as he was about to do something, Gabriella's house phone rang, snapping them back to reality.

Troy immediately rolled off Gabriella, leaving her to be able to get up and get the phone. She did so, blushing deeply while picking it up off the receiver.

"Hello?" she asked, her voice wavering.

"Gabi? Is Troy there?" Chad asked nervously.

Gabriella turned and looked at Troy. "Yes, he's right here…" she trailed off.

"Can I talk to him for a moment?" he asked, chuckling nervously.

"Sure," she said uncertainly, handing Troy the phone. He took it softly out of Gabriella's hands, sending a peculiar sensation through her body.

"Chad?" Troy asked into the phone. "How did you find me here?"

"Well, I have your phone and you're not answering the hotel phone, so where else would you be? And Taylor tipped me off that you were with Gabriella last night. But anyway, on to important matters; you need to get to your hotel room _now."_ He said urgently into the phone.

Troy started to put on his sneakers. "Why?" he asked confused.

"Melanie is coming back today, in about fifteen minutes to be exact. I'll explain every thing later. But I don't think she'd want to know that you spent the night at your wedding planner's," Chad replied.

Troy's eyes widened in shock and fear. "Yeah, man, I got it. Thanks," he muttered into the phone before hanging it up.

"Everything okay?" a quiet voice asked from behind.

Troy spun around, looking at Gabriella. She was standing by her window; the sun's rays hitting her brunette hair, making about twenty different shades of brown glisten upon her head.

"What? Oh, yeah, I just need to get back to the hotel. But I will see you later?" he asked, after he got back to his senses.

Gabriella nodded before walking closer to where he was standing. "Yeah, you'll see me later. Thank you, for everything you did last night, Troy. It was really kind of you," she said softly.

He gave a small smile before putting the phone down. "It was no problem, really," he replied, slowly walking close to her; suddenly forgetting where he had to go and why. He continued to walk until he was right in front of her, where he stopped when their bodies were only centimeters apart. Gabriella looked up at him with an indifferent expression. Troy smiled slightly as he put his hand on her neck, stroking her cheek with his thumb.

Gabriella felt chills go down her spine when his hand made contact with her skin, but she ignored them as she took in a deep breath. She then placed her hand on top of his and held it for a second, before taking it off her face softly.

"You have to go," she said delicately, letting her hand slip off of his. Gabriella then looked down, and walked into her room shutting the door quietly.

----

"Troy!" Melanie screeched as he opened the hotel room door. She quickly threw herself onto him, causing him to stagger and back far into the room.

"I missed you so much!" she whispered as she pulled away from the hug. Her things were still in the hallway, as she forgot them when she saw Troy.

Troy smiled. "I missed you too," he replied.

Melanie beamed, but then excitement filled her face. "So, how did you and Gabriella plan?" she asked anxiously.

"Great," Troy replied, taking a seat on the bed.

Melanie raised her eyebrows. "Great? That's it?" she asked.

Troy looked up at his fiancée. "Yeah, it went great," he repeated, shrugging his shoulders.

Melanie shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Okay…oh! I have a surprise," she said excitedly.

"What is it?" he asked cautiously; last time she had said that, it had turned out to be a disaster.

Melanie smiled wider. "Trust me, it's a good one," she replied before walking back out into the hallway.

Troy rolled his eyes as he leaned back on his hands on the bed. He then heard Melanie screech something in the hallway, followed by the door closing shut; unable to hear what was going on in the corridor. Troy's mind wandered back to what had happened at Gabriella's apartment. Was he really doing the right thing by marrying Melanie? Did he really love her like he said he did? Troy shook the thoughts from his head; dismissing them all.

"Now I know what my dad meant by 'cold feet'," Troy mumbled to himself. Seconds later the door burst open with Melanie, and an older couple walking in the room. Troy put on a smile, but inwardly groaned when he saw the older couple. He stood up and went to go greet the guests.

"Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Dashsend," Troy said warmly as he hugged them both.

Mrs. Dashsend grinned at Troy. "How many times have I told you to call me mom?" she asked as they pulled away from the hug.

Troy smiled widely as Mr. Dashsend began to speak. "So, where is this wedding planner that Melanie speaks so highly about? I must meet this young woman who is spending all my money," he said, laughing slightly on the last part.

Troy looked down and chuckled nervously as Melanie interjected. "I called her before I came in. We're meeting her at noon," she said checking her watch. "We should get going."

Melanie then started to walk out of the hotel room, grabbing her purse and leading the way.

----

"Miss Montez?" Mr. Dashsend inquired at the non-moving figure leaning over a pile of papers.

Gabriella's head snapped up, and saw the four figures in her doorway. She immediately stood up and walked over to shake hands with the bride's parents.

"Nice to meet you, Miss Montez," Mrs. Dashsend greeted as she shook her hand.

Gabriella smiled warmly. "My pleasure. Oh, and please, call me Gabriella," she said kindly.

Mr. Dashsend shook her hand firmly. "Gabriella, now, I hope you're giving what ever my darling wants. I don't care about the cost," he said, standing up straight.

"Okay, sir. I'll keep that in mind," Gabriella responded, chuckling slightly.

Melanie then turned to Gabriella with excitement written on her face. "So, tell me and my parents what you and Troy here have planned so far!" she said with thrill in her voice.

Troy and Gabriella locked eye contact, and Gabriella led her clients into seats in her office. She then opened her mouth to speak. "Well, we picked out flowers-" Gabriella attempted but was interrupted by Melanie.

"Oh, yes, I heard that you guys picked out lilies and daises? I understand the lilies, but Troy, what in the world made you pick out daises?" she inquired.

Gabriella shifted uncomfortably in her seat. When she saw Troy stumbled for words, she answered. "I encouraged it. I thought they went perfectly with your theme and lilies. And daises are rumored to be good luck for a wedding," Gabriella lied.

Melanie's face lit up. "Really? Oh, well in that case, I understand," she said smiling.

Gabriella's eyes shifted to Troy, where he mouthed 'thank you'. Gabriella gave a slight nod before proceeding. "We have photography planned out, and I got it a great price, so you don't have to worry about the cost there," Gabriella explained, "and we don't have the invitations published yet, but we should have them soon," she said, casting a slight smile in Troy's direction.

"Sounds like you guys are doing great! Now we just need the dress and tuxedo fittings, and reservations for the church and reception hall," Melanie clapped smiling.

Gabriella faked a smile. "Yeah, among other little things, like the cake and champagne," she added.

Mr. Dashsend stood up from his seat, as Mrs. Dashsend. "Well, it was my pleasure meeting you, you sound like you know what you're doing," he said as he shook her hand again.

"Thank you," Gabriella grinned. Mr. and Mrs. Dashsend smiled and then turned around and started to walk. Melanie and Troy then stood up, and began to follow as Gabriella walked around her desk to lead them out of the building.

"Thanks for meeting my parents, I told them so much about you, and they wanted to meet you personally themselves before the wedding," Melanie muttered as they walked out of the office, fishing in her bag for her cell phone.

Gabriella smiled. "No problem."

Melanie finally pulled out her phone, but groaned when she glanced at the screen. "Why is it whenever I want this to work, it never has reception?" she asked to no one in particular, but Gabriella took her own out from her pocket.

"Use mine. It has service," she offered, holding it out. Melanie grinned and took it out of her hand.

"Thanks," she said as she began to punch in numbers on the phone.

"So Gabriella, how long have you been working here?" Mrs. Dashsend asked as they waited for the elevator.

"I've worked here for about a year and a half," Gabriella replied kindly.

Mr. and Mrs. Dashsend sent each other looks of surprise. "A year and a half? Well, you certainly made a name for yourself in that short amount of time," Mr. Dashsend proclaimed with a smile.

Gabriella grinned and nodded. She was about to say something when a voice rang out in the hallway.

"Gabriella!" Jamie screeched, marching down the hallway.

"Yes?" Gabriella asked through clenched teeth, along with a fake smile.

The blonde stopped abruptly in front of Gabriella. "We need to talk," she muttered at Gabriella, while smiling at the Dashsends' and Troy. She then grabbed Gabriella's arm and started to walk off with her.

"I'm going to borrow Gabriella for a moment. She'll be in touch," Jamie called over her shoulder while dragging Gabriella off down the hallway.

Once they rounded a corner, Jamie opened a random door and pushed herself and Gabriella inside. Gabriella stumbled in the room, recognizing it as Cindy's office. She then turned around fiercely at Jamie.

"_What _was _so_ important that you just _had_ to drag me off like I was a dog for?" Gabriella asked angrily.

Jamie smirked. "Well, someone told me that instead of working yesterday, you were off at a bar coughing down shots like a crazy person?" she inquired, looking expectantly at Gabriella.

Gabriella looked down. "It's a long story-"

Jamie chuckled coldly. "So you _were_ off drinking shots at a bar? Anything else you want to add to that? Oh, yes, how about you were with the groom of the hugest wedding account in the _company_? When I head this, I dismissed the idea immediately, knowing that it couldn't possibly be true. But when I overheard you retelling the same story on the phone to one of your friends, I wanted to bust you right then. But luckily for you, the Dashsends' entered the office before I could. But now that I have you now, I have only one thing to say to you Gabriella: Get your act together," she said nastily, before walking out of the office.

Gabriella sighed and leaned back on the desk as she watched the door close. "What am I doing?" she groaned, leaning her head back. She then stood fully up and walked out of the office, only to find that her clients were gone. She let out a breath and then decided to go for a walk to clear her thoughts.

----

"Mhmm, yes, that's great. Okay, well, I'll talk to you later," Melanie said as she pressed the 'end' button on the cell phone.

Troy furrowed his brow as he looked at the phone. "Isn't that Gabriella's?" he asked.

Melanie's eyes widened. "Oh, yeah it is, she was whisked off before I had a chance to give it to her," she proclaimed.

Troy nodded as he took the phone from her. "I'll give it back," he said, walking back into the building. He made his way back up onto the eleventh floor, where her office was located. Once he reached her door, he saw the lights were off and the door was locked. He turned around and started to look down hallways, seeing if he could spot her out.

"She's at the park," a voice suddenly said.

Troy snapped his head around in the direction of the voice. He turned around to find Cindy.

"What?" he asked.

The blonde rolled her eyes. "She's at the park on 5th street. Probably sitting by the lake," she repeated.

"Thanks," he said as he dashed towards the elevator.

----

Gabriella sat down on the grass, looking out at the water's surface. She sat up, hugging her knees to her chest, thinking about what Jamie had said. She knew Jamie was right; she needed to get her act together. Troy was getting married; there was no way around it, or any loop holes. She just needed to learn how to accept that fact. She sighed as she started to pull blades of grass up from the ground. She came to the park every now and then, whenever she needed to take a break from reality, or just to enjoy the quiet.

"Gabriella?" a voice asked.

She snapped her head behind her, to find Troy standing there looking at her. "What are you doing here?" she asked, putting her hand over her eyes to block them from the sun.

Troy smiled. "Melanie still had your phone," he replied as he held it up. He then walked over to her and sat next to her.

"How did you find me here?" she asked as she took the phone from him.

He looked up at the sky. "Cindy tipped me off," he responded.

Gabriella nodded, and then looked back at the lake. A leaf had fallen in; disturbing the surface of the water, sending ripples in every direction. Gabriella thought about how that sort of resembled her life; how she was so content with her life, but then how one thing came and shifted it all around.

"It's really quiet here," Troy said, now leaning back on his hands. "You come here often?"

"Sometimes. I usually come here to think, or to get away from things," Gabriella replied meekly.

Troy nodded in understanding. "Sort of like my secret spot in high school?" he asked smiling.

Gabriella smiled slightly. "Yes. _Exactly_ like high school," she replied. She knew in her heart, however, that it would never be like high school without Troy by her side.

----

**Author's Note: I know this wasn't the best chapter, in fact I'm not real proud of it. But I am so sorry it took so long. I'll update soon! Please review! They keep me going! Thanks!**


	11. Tuxedo Fittings Among Other Things

**Author's Note: Thanks so much for all the reviews! I broke 400! Yay! That's the most I've ever had. But really thank you, because without you guys, that never would've happened. Anyway, on with the story!**

**Disclaimer: I think we all know that I don't own anything, except for the little things and characters you don't know or recognize.**

**----**

Troy held his arms out in front of the mirror, letting the salesman poke the black fabric with numerous needles. He was getting his tuxedo fitted, along with his groomsmen; Chad, Jason, Zeke and Ryan. Jason and Ryan had flown in the day before, both staying at the hotel in which Troy and Melanie were. Zeke already lived in the neighborhood for his restaurant, so he stayed in his own place.

"Ow! Hey, watch where you're poking that thing!" Chad exclaimed, looking down at his salesman with a glare. The salesman looked up at him sheepishly, and then went back to measuring his pants. Chad shook his head in annoyance, while Jason, Zeke, Ryan and Troy all snickered.

"I still can't believe you're getting married," Jason proclaimed from one end of the store, turning in the mirror to get a look at his tuxedo from another angle.

Troy took in a deep breath as he looked at himself in the mirror. "Yeah, I know," he answered. It had been about a week from the day he found Gabriella in the park; the last time they got to spend time together alone. One part of Troy thought this was a good thing; if they continued the way they had, something they both would have regretted might have happened. Another part of Troy, however, was missing the time they had together without Melanie. He sighed as the salesman motioned for him to put his hands down.

"Yeah, dude, how did you propose? You never told me, you know," Chad retorted from his corner.

"Out to dinner," Troy answered simply. He then turned around on his stand, letting the salesman look over his revisions.

Zeke smirked. "Ah, the easy way?" he asked from his spot.

Troy smiled and looked down. "Well, I don't really think there is an _easy_ was to propose to someone," he replied.

"I agree. He's right. There really is no easy way; just the level of emotion. For instance, I'm sure your partner would appreciate it if you did something different and romantic, rather than the original way of proposing," Ryan added knowingly.

Everyone stopped and stared at Ryan with raised eyebrows. Finally, Chad spoke up. "'Your partner?'" he repeated. "Would you listen to yourself? You sound like a walking romance book for dummies," Chad finished.

This earned a laugh from the guys, even Ryan himself. "Well, I'm sorry if I have more common sense when it comes to women," he replied, still chuckling.

"Hey! I take offence from that!" Chad cried, flapping his arms down at his side, causing needles to fly off his tuxedo coat. "Oh, um, sorry," he apologized meekly. The salesman sighed irritated, but nonetheless picked them up and started to place them back where they were.

Troy laughed at the scene before him. "Well Chad, you haven't been the smoothest person with girls-" he started, but someone else finished.

"Yeah, like that time you told Taylor she looked fat in that pink dress?" Zeke cut in.

"Hey! Someone spiked my drink that night, so by the time she arrived I was already hammered. I didn't even register what she asked me!" Chad said in defense.

Zeke and Jason rolled their eyes, while Ryan and Troy laughed slightly. "And besides, Troy, you aren't the smoothest one on the Earth either," Chad added.

Troy furrowed his brow. "What do you mean?" he asked.

This time, Jason, Zeke, Ryan all looked at Troy with a 'duh' look on their faces. "What?" Troy asked once again, not getting the point they were trying to make.

Ryan looked down at his feet as he held his arm out for the salesman to measure. "Well Troy, I guess we just all figured you would end up with Gabriella, that's all," he said quietly.

Troy sighed and looked back at Chad. "So that's what this is about?"

Everyone in the shop nodded, including the salesmen. "Yeah, this might sound a little corny, but you and Gabriella were like, the 'golden couple' back in high school," Jason interjected using air quotes.

Troy sighed and looked down at his feet. "What are you implying? That I just call the wedding off? I can't do that," Troy retorted.

Zeke and Chad exchanged looks. "No, but we're just saying…maybe you should think about what you're doing," Zeke said.

"Wait, so you all talked about this?" Troy asked irritated.

The four men looked down. "Well, no, not exactly, we just kind of all thought the same thing. I mean, I thought I was the only one who thought you and Gabriella would stay together," Jason spoke up.

Chad nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah man, he's right," he added.

Troy sighed and looked at his friends. "You honestly think I would ask someone to marry me without being sure I wanted to spend my life with them?" he asked.

Ryan gazed at Troy sympathetically. "Troy, we trust you, but people make mistakes. And I'm not saying you're making one, but sometimes people make them and don't realize it until it's too late," he said, stepping off his stool.

Zeke nodded slowly as his salesman motioned for him to get off his stool also. Ryan and Zeke disappeared into the dressing rooms, leaving Jason, Chad and Troy alone.

"You guys agree with them also, I'm guessing?" Troy asked, already knowing the answer.

Jason locked eye contact with Chad through the mirrors, and Chad nodded slightly, as to say, 'tell him.'

"Well, Troy, yeah, we do. We really do trust you, but is this really what you want? Melanie? If it is, we're your friends; we'll be there with no matter what. We're just asking that you _think_ about what you're doing," Jason stated, now walking into the dressing rooms.

Troy turned to Chad. He immediately put his hands up in mock defense. "I didn't tell them to say that, I swear. It was all them," he said unconvincingly.

Troy rolled his eyes and stepped down on the ground. "I need some time to think," he muttered before walking into his own dressing room to change.

----

"This is the area where the reception would take place," Gabriella guided as she, Melanie and Troy proceeded to walk down the cobblestone walkways of the reception hall.

Melanie grinned. "I really like it. What do you think of it, Troy?" she asked, turning to him.

Troy snapped his attention to the redhead beside him. "I think it's great," he replied with a smile.

Gabriella smiled widely. "Great, so then I should book it?" she asked hopefully. This was the fifth place they had looked, because Melanie hated or disliked all the other places she had offered.

"Yes, please," Melanie answered, wrapping her arms around Troy. She looked up at him and smiled. "Can you believe we're getting married?" she asked excitedly.

Gabriella bit her lip as she saw Troy think before answering. "Yeah, I know…" he trailed off, as he looked at Gabriella. Melanie followed his gaze, and gave him a confused look when she noticed who he was looking at. She opened her mouth to say something but Gabriella jumped in.

"Okay, well, since we have this place booked, we should probably go to the restaurant to make reservations for the rehearsal dinner," she said quickly, and then started to walk off in the direction of their car.

Troy broke off from Melanie's grasp and nodded. "Yeah, um, we should do that," he mumbled awkwardly as he followed Gabriella's direction. Melanie pouted and watched as he continued to walk. She sighed and ran to catch up to Troy. When she did, she wrapped her arm around his and enlaced their fingers.

"Are you okay, Troy? You seem…kind of distant ever since you got back from the tuxedo fitting," Melanie whispered.

Troy looked down at his fiancée. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just nerves, I guess," he replied with a weak smile.

Melanie looked up into his face and nodded. "Okay," she said smiling, leaning into him as they walked towards the car where Gabriella was waiting.

Gabriella was leaning against the green range rover carelessly, waiting for Troy and Melanie to catch up to her. She felt his gaze on her throughout the tour she was giving them; it was only a matter of time before Melanie started asking questions. Honestly, how oblivious can a girl be? Gabriella shook off her thoughts as they finally reached the car. She smiled as Troy came up next to her to open the driver's door. He grinned as he unlocked the car and watched Gabriella climb in the backseat. He then got in his own seat and started the car. Melanie crawled in the passenger side, and then turned to face Gabriella in the back.

"So, I've been wanting to ask you, -but I've never had the chance-, how is your love life going? I mean you must have such a passionate love life," she said with a bright smile.

"Mel, don't you think that's a little personal to be asking?" Troy asked nervously, looking at her.

Melanie looked back at Troy and shrugged. "It's okay, Troy," Gabriella laughed from the back.

"So?" Melanie pressed Gabriella.

Gabriella sighed and looked down. "Actually, despite what you may think, it's been…out of hand lately, if you know what I mean," she mumbled.

"I don't know what you mean. Care to explain?" Melanie asked interested.

Gabriella bit her lip nervously, not finding a way out of it. "Well, um, the guy I was interested in is not, er, available?" she tried weakly.

Melanie widened her eyes, and her lips formed into an excited smile. "When did this happen? And why is he not available?" she asked anxiously.

"Well, it's a funny story actually. He turned out to be one of the grooms for a wedding I was planning," Gabriella said with a fake smile, making a quick glace at Troy in the rear view mirror.

Melanie looked in shock. "Are you serious?" she asked incredulously.

Gabriella nodded. "Who was it?" Melanie asked, leaning farther into the back seat to see Gabriella. Just then the car swerved greatly to the left, causing Melanie to slide and hit her head on Troy's seat as he went steadily back on the road.

"Troy! What the hell was that?" Melanie asked, rubbing her head.

"There was a possum in the road! Did you see that? Goddamn possum," Troy muttered as he locked eye contact with Gabriella through the mirrors. She shook her head and broke the gaze as she looked out the window, watching the trees and bushes pass along the side of the road in a blur.

----

"Hmm, I'll have to think about it," Zeke said playfully, putting his thumb and forefinger on his chin to make it look like he was thinking.

Gabriella grinned as she lightly hit him in the arm. "Zeke, please?" she asked, pouting like a puppy dog.

Zeke grinned. "Well you know, I am sort of busy that night, and it could be pay back for you not coming to see me all these years. I mean you lived so close and now…?" he asked, still grinning.

Gabriella laughed and looked at him, her bottom lip sticking out, still pouting. Zeke couldn't take the look any longer and finally gave in. "Oh, fine. But you have to promise me something," he said.

Gabriella grinned. "Okay, what?" she asked.

"You have to visit me more often. Once at least every three weeks, and _no_ exceptions. I don't care how much Jamie is annoying you to work; I bring in more than enough business for her anyway," he stated.

"You got it. Now obviously you know the date because you're one of the groomsmen, so we need at least need-"

Zeke cut her off. "Yeah, I know what we need. Enough room for Troy's family and our friends; and then Melanie's family. I got it covered," he answered, writing it down on the reservation booklet at the podium, in the front of the restaurant.

"Man, this is a nice place you got here," Troy commented, looking around the restaurant in amazement.

Zeke looked up from the book and smiled. "All thanks to you, dude," he replied.

Troy looked at him, eyebrows knitted in confusion. "Thanks to me? What did I do?" he asked puzzled.

"If you never sang, I never would've proceeded with my baking and cooking dream. Let alone open a restaurant," he explained, going back to the table and seating charts.

Melanie looked up at Troy shocked. "You _sang?_" she asked surprised.

Gabriella and Zeke choked back laughs, as Troy stumbled for words. "Well, I mean – yeah," he stuttered.

"You never told me that!" Melanie exclaimed, hitting him playfully in the chest. Troy coughed and eyed Zeke warningly, giving him a stern look. Zeke smiled and shook his head, writing things down on the chart.

"Well, now that we've got that out of the way, I think we're done for today," Gabriella said happily, checking her papers she had in her hands.

Melanie grinned. "That's good. Thanks so much Zeke!" she exclaimed his name, like they were old pals. Zeke looked up at her questionably, but gave a weak smile. "No problem," he answered.

Gabriella held in a laugh as she hugged Zeke goodbye. "I promise I'll visit you," she said pulling away.

He smiled. "You better," he replied, then going back to recording the reservations. Gabriella led the way out of the restaurant to the car. She climbed in the backseat again, waiting for Troy to start the car.

"Oh, Troy? Could you drop me off at a card store? It's my sister's birthday this week and I need to get her a card," Melanie asked.

"Yeah, sure. Do you know where a card store is?" he inquired, turning out of the parking lot and onto a main road.

Melanie turned to Gabriella in the back. "Do you know where one is?" she asked sheepishly.

Gabriella laughed. "Yeah, there's one over on 5th Avenue, by my apartment," she answered.

"Oh, good. So then you can drop me off first, and then drop Gabriella off and then come back and get me," Melanie told Troy.

He nodded, and continued to drive. "Sounds good to me," he proclaimed. The drive was silent, except for Melanie's rambles every now and then about the wedding and its details. Gabriella sighed, and let her head hit the cold glass of her window, looking out the window. She watched they passes shops and little flower shops; she felt a smile creep its way on her lips when they passed the florist she and Troy had gone to. Her smile was wiped off as she remembered why they were there. Troy pulled over on the side of the road as she spotted the card store. Melanie quickly got out, but first leaned back to Gabriella. "Thanks so much for today! See you soon!" she exclaimed as she shut the door.

Gabriella smiled in response as she watched Melanie trot into the card store, disappearing from view. "You remember where I live, right?" Gabriella asked.

Troy smiled. "Of course, how could I not remember?" he inquired, remembering the night he and Gabriella went to the bar.

Gabriella grinned and leaned back in her seat. Troy turned the car around and drove a couple blocks to her apartment building. He pulled over to the sidewalk, and turned off the car. Gabriella got out, but only finding that Troy had also.

"Troy, what are you doing?" she asked puzzled.

He grinned. "I wouldn't be a gentleman if I didn't walk you to your door," he said, beginning to walk with her.

Gabriella rolled her eyes playfully and chuckled. "We already know you're a gentleman, I mean after all, you _did_ swerve the car to the other side of the road to avoid me answering a question," she stated, walking inside the building with Troy on her heels.

Troy smiled slightly. "Yeah, about that," he said running to catch up with her. She was on the stairs, walking up them to get to her floor. He caught up easily, taking the stairs two at a time.

"What about it?" she asked, strolling onto her floor and fishing around in her bag for her key.

"Who _was _the person?" he asked carefully, putting his arm up on the wall, leaning on it.

Gabriella finally found her key and took it out, but not before looking at him. "Troy, do we have to do this now?" she asked desperately.

He looked at her with anticipation. "Well, when are we going to talk about it? I mean, we never get one on one time because Melanie is here, and obviously we're not talking about it in front of her," he stated.

She sighed and looked down. "What do you want to know?" she asked quietly, not daring to look up at him.

"Who was the person?" he asked, having a feeling that it might've been himself.

Gabriella heaved a big sigh, and finally looked up at him. "Who do you think, Troy?" she asked gently.

Troy looked at her, and saw that she had tears welling up in her eyes. He took his hand off the wall and came closer to her, taking her hand as he brought his own hand up to her face and wiped away a tear that had started to come down. She bit her lip at his touch, and felt her palms become all clammy. Troy kept his hand on her face, stroking it slightly. His mind was telling him to go, to leave, but his heart was telling him something completely different. He looked at their position and noticed that their bodies were close to each other, almost as close as the day they were at the florist. They were both staring in each other's eyes, questioning the other. It was then when Troy finally leaned in, closing the space between their faces and gently placing his lips on hers.

----

**Author's Note: Haha, you're all probably looking at the screen like, 'What? _What_ just happened?' Well, it's part of the story. And this isn't the end…just in case some of you think that. Anyways, I think it's a good cliffhanger, don't you? Lol. Anyway, I want to thank Lipshake, who sort of sparked me for this chapter. Lol. Anyway, please review! Thanks!**


	12. Impossible Feelings

**Author's Note: Wow. I am absolutely BLOWN AWAY by all the reviews from you guys. Thanks so much! I can't stress enough how much they mean to me. Anyway, enough of my rambles, here's the chapter I know left on such a mean cliffhanger. XD**

**Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical.**

**----**

Gabriella stood in front of her door, shocked at what had just occurred. Troy's lips were now resolutely planted on her own, kissing her softly. Before her mind registered what she was doing, she returned the kiss slowly, and gradually leaning her body in closer to him. Her hands moved their way up his chest, where they rested right under his shoulders. His hand was still on her cheek, but soon moved down to her neck as he parted his lips faintly. Gabriella thought she heard a faint clicking noise in the background, but ignored it as she felt Troy's strong arm snake its way around her waist, pulling him closer to her. She somewhat smiled inwardly; his kiss was gentle but tender, just like how he used to kiss her in high school. This kiss was different however, it had a sense of longing in it; something she had never felt before. Gabriella felt so lost in the moment, but not soon after, her conscience unfortunately got the better of her, causing her to push him off of her softly.

"What are you doing?" she asked, looking into his cobalt blue eyes.

Troy's hand went up to his hair nervously as he looked down at the floor, deep in thought. Gabriella continued to look at him, lost in her own thoughts about the events that had just taken place. Troy finally switched his gaze from the ground and back up at Gabriella. He opened his mouth to apologize, but nothing came out of his mouth. For some reason, Troy couldn't bring himself to do it. In reality, he really wasn't sorry. He had wanted to kiss her; it wasn't a misunderstanding. Gabriella stood there, her feet glued to the ground. Her eyes were wide with fear and shock, searching his eyes. She then took in a deep breath and started to shake her head.

"Oh my God, no, not now…" she mumbled. Gabriella swallowed and looked back at Troy. "Troy…you, y-you shouldn't of done that," she stumbled, "I have to go," she finished, bending down to pick up her keys that she had dropped moments before. She swiftly unlocked the door and was about to go in, when suddenly Troy grabbed her arm. Gabriella's body spun around to face him, her face wearing a scared and painful expression.

"Gabriella, wait, please, I –" but he was cut off by her quiet and fragile voice.

"Troy, just, p-please leave me a-alone," Gabriella said painfully and quietly, tears becoming visible on the rim of her eyelids. Troy's expression softened, and he slowly released her arm, wanting to hold onto it a little longer. Once his grip was finally released, she swallowed and closed her door without a word. Inside, Gabriella let her purse drop on the table, along with her keys as she recklessly made her way to her bedroom; hitting and running into things on her path there. She threw open her door, and collapsed on her bed, sobbing uncontrollably. She gripped her pillow tightly, her face buried in it. Soon her pillowcase was drenched with tears, and she sat up abruptly. Her cheeks were red and damp; an effect of the tears that had fallen and soaked through her skin. Fresh tears proceed to roll down her cheeks, cascading and splattering on her satin comforter.

She leaned against the headboard, swallowing and closing her eyes. "I don't love him, I don't love him, I don't…love him," she repeated weakly, hitting the back of her head against the wall each time she repeated it. She opened her eyes, and started looking around her bedroom. Her fingers found their way up to her lips, and she ran a finger across them smoothly. She took in a breath, thinking about how minutes before Troy's lips had been on her own. She closed her eyes again as her hand dropped down to her side. Gabriella slid down on her bed, lying on her stomach. Her eyes closed slowly into a light sleep, but not before letting one final tear drip down her nose.

----

Troy swallowed hard as he waited outside of the car shop in the car. He bit his lip, replaying the events that had happened in her apartment building. He hadn't planned for that to happen, it seemed that whenever he was around Gabriella, he had done certain things he wouldn't normally do. She had that sort of effect on him, an effect he couldn't place his finger on. He sighed and let his head hit the headrest on his seat, and he saw Melanie bounce out of the store, a smile upon her face. She hopped in the front seat, giving Troy a quick peck.

"Ready to go out to dinner with my parents?" she asked jovially.

Troy nodded glumly. "Yeah," he answered uninterested.

Melanie's brows furrowed. "Baby, what's wrong?" she asked, rubbing his forearm as he continued to drive.

He sighed and shook his head. "Nothing…can I ask you something?" he asked.

The redhead nodded. "Yeah, you can ask me anything," she replied, now concerned.

Troy took a deep breath. "You love me, right?" he asked, keeping his eyes on the road.

Melanie seemed taken aback by the question, but answered nonetheless. "Of course I do, what ever made you think different?"

He sighed and proceeded to drive down the street. Nothing did, I just wanted to…" he trailed off, stopping.

Melanie raised her eyebrows and had a puzzled expression upon her features. "Wanted to what? Troy, I will always love you," she said softly.

Troy smiled slightly, but didn't answer as they pulled into the hotel parking lot.

----

"Gabriella?" Taylor called into her apartment as she pulled her spare key out of the lock. She entered the apartment, spotting the purse and keys scattered on the table and the thrown jacket on the floor. She looked around the living room and kitchen, but found no sign of Gabriella. Taylor sighed as she started to walk towards the bedroom. When she opened the door, what she found made her sigh. On the bed was a sleeping form of Gabriella, her head lying by the end of her bed. There were abandoned tissues on the side of her bed, and her blue pillowcases were damp. Taylor sent her friend a look of sympathy, looking at her best friend with a pillow clutched to her chest tightly. She quickly walked over to her friend, and shook her slightly. Gabriella stirred, and slowly opened her eyes. When she spotted Taylor, she sat up immediately.

"Tay, what are you doing here?" she asked, rubbing her eyes trying to get rid of all the tearstains.

"I came to see you. I mean, we haven't seen or talked to each other in a couple of days, and I wanted to see how you were doing," she answered, "and I see that hasn't been too great," she added, looking at the mascara that had run down her friend's face.

Gabriella let her hands drop to her lap as she started to play with them. "Yeah…" she mumbled.

Taylor sat on the bed and embraced her in a hug. "What happened?" she asked, rubbing Gabriella's back. She took a deep, shaky breath and pulled away.

"He…he kissed me," she mumbled, now playing with the edge of her shirt.

Taylor's eyes widened. "Who? Who kissed you?" she asked anxiously, sitting closer to Gabriella.

Gabriella sighed. "Troy," she said quietly.

Taylor smiled and jumped up from the bed, positioning herself on her knees in front of Gabriella. "When? Why? How? Details, I want details!" she squealed.

"It's not like that, Taylor. I mean, he's getting married! How could he just kiss me? It really only proves how faithful he is. Do you know how devastated I would be if I was in Melanie's place right now?" Gabriella asked incredulously.

Taylor sighed, and sat fully down on the floor. "Gabi, but that's the thing. You _aren't_ in Melanie's place right now. And I think we both perfectly know that Troy has always loved you, so why would he stop? Keeping you away from him for a couple of years doesn't change his feelings. Not one that strong."

Gabriella bit her lip as she looked at her friend. "Taylor, Their wedding's coming up real soon. How could I let him kiss me?" she asked, more to herself than to Taylor.

"Because, you love him, and you want to kiss him, just like how he wants to kiss you. I wish you would just stop being so damn stubborn," Taylor replied, mumbling the last part.

"Troy and I are over. We were when we finished high school," Gabriella stated bitterly.

Taylor rolled her eyes. "Sure, if you say so. Tell me that in about six years when you guys are married and have little Troy's and Gabriella's running around," she said, lying on the floor, putting her hands behind her head.

Gabriella threw her hands down at her sides. "Troy and I are not getting married! If you haven't noticed, I've been planning _his_ wedding to _another_ woman!" Gabriella exclaimed.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. It doesn't change our views," Taylor replied, looking up at the ceiling.

Gabriella furrowed her brow. "Our views?" she inquired curiously.

Taylor switched her gaze to Gabriella. "Yeah, our. As in me and Chad," she answered.

Gabriella's eyes widened as she threw a pillow at Taylor's head. "Oh, and have we been getting cozy with Chad, now?" Gabriella asked in a mock tone.

"No, Gab, it's not like that," Taylor said, moving into a sitting up position.

Gabriella raised her eyebrows. "Oh really? 'I think we both know that he loved you. Why would he stop? A feeling that strong doesn't change over time,'" Gabriella mimicked.

Taylor narrowed her eyes. "Eh heh heh. Funny," she commented, standing up. She then turned to Gabriella. "Take out or raid your fridge?"

----

"Troy, sweetie, I asked you what you were going to get," Melanie said, shaking Troy's arm slightly.

Troy snapped back to reality, looking at Melanie. "I'm sorry, what?" he asked, sitting up in his chair.

Melanie chuckled. "Sweetheart, what are you going to get? I've been trying to talk to you for the past five minutes. Are you sure you're okay?" she asked.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine. I'm great, dandy, fantastic," he said a little too cheerfully. Melanie nodded, but not before giving him a weird glance. Throughout the night, Troy would always find his mind drifting back to earlier that day, when he was with Gabriella. The kiss had been something he hadn't felt in a really long time; his and Melanie's kisses were nothing like that. His and Gabriella's had been with so much more fervor, something he never felt with Melanie. He tried to convince himself that he was doing the right thing; Melanie loved him, so he would surely be happy…right?

"So, honey what are you going to order?" Melanie asked, once again.

Troy looked down at his menu and read the first thing that he saw. "Uh, the crab cakes," he answered quickly, but then mentally kicked himself as Melanie raised her eyebrows.

"Sweetie, you're allergic to seafood," she said slowly, now feeling his forehead, "are you _sure_ you're all right?"

Troy took this opportunity to go and think. "Uh, you know what? I am feeling a little…ill. I'll just go back to the hotel, but the dinner is on me, so get whatever you want," Troy said standing up, smiling at Melanie and her parents.

Melanie nodded and stood up to kiss him goodbye. "See you later," she whispered in his ear. He smiled and nodded as he started to walk off in the direction of the exit. He exited the building, hands in pockets, letting the breeze hit his face. Troy started to walk off nowhere in particular, letting his legs lead him wherever they wanted to go. He was lost in his own thoughts, before he soon realized he was standing in front of Gabriella's apartment building. He sighed as he looked up to her window, and saw her light was on. He was about to walk away, when suddenly Taylor stepped out of the building. She paused and looked at Troy, but then suddenly smiled and pulled him aside.

"You, Mr. Bolton have to give me details. I don't know what happened today, because Miss-he's-getting-married-and-I-am-so-damn-stubborn won't tell me anything. So what happened? All I know is that there was a kiss involved," she said smiling, wiggling her eyebrows.

Troy sighed, but smiled a bit at Taylor's remarks. "It just sort of happened. I mean, I didn't plan it…or count it on happening…but…it just did," he said, his hand rubbing the back of his neck.

Taylor grinned. "Well, go talk to her," she said, pushing him into the inside of the building.

"What? Taylor, oh come on," Troy said as she proceeded to push him up the staircase.

Taylor gave him a big shove, causing him to practically fly up the stairs. "Troy, I'm not letting the two most oblivious people on the planet blow their chances together because one is a babbling idiot and the other one is a stubborn mule," she said, now tugging him up onto her floor.

Troy let his head fall back as he finally arrived in front of her door. Taylor knocked loudly, but Troy turned to her curiously. "Hey, was I the babbling idiot?" he asked, Taylor's words just sinking in.

Taylor grinned and started to sprint down the stairs. "That wasn't nice!" Troy called down to Taylor. As he turned back to the door, he saw Gabriella standing in it.

"Uh, hi," he began.

Gabriella's hands were crossed uncomforting, just like on New Year's Eve. "What are you doing here, Troy?" she asked, moving away from the doorway and into her apartment.

Troy cautiously followed her inside, shutting the door behind him. "Well, I wanted to apologize," he stated, looking at her standing with her back to him, by the window.

She snorted, but then turned around quickly, and looked him in the eyes. "You don't know what you want, Troy," she said with no emotion.

"What do you mean? I know what I want, I'm getting married," he said back, his eyebrows furrowing.

Gabriella searched his face. "No you don't."

Troy put his hands out. "What do I want then, Gabriella?" he asked.

"I don't know, but you don't want to get married," she replied, still looking him in the eyes.

Troy looked at her questionably. "What are you talking about? Of course I want to get married," he answered as she came closer to him.

"Then why did you kiss me?" she asked, now standing in front of him. Troy gulped; he had not expected this. When she received no answer, she backed away, going back to her spot by the window. "I told you," she stated.

"You know, you're not making this any easier," he said, folding his arms at his chest. She whipped around, staring at him.

"Me? What do I have to do with it? _Your_ fiancée is the one who came to me! You're the one who came waltzing back into my life, without having any contact or communication for the past four years! Who knows Troy, maybe if you'd call me every once and awhile, then we wouldn't be dealing with this!" she exclaimed.

Troy looked up at the ceiling and laughed coldly before looking back at Gabriella. "_I_ could've called? You could have too! Don't just blame this thing on me!" he shouted back.

"Well for someone who thinks everyday about the promise you made me, you sure had a good job of showing it! Really Troy, if you honestly thought about it everyday, why didn't you bother to pick up a phone and call me? And what are you really apologizing for? For kissing me? Leading me on? Being unfaithful to Melanie? Which one is it? Or is it all of them?" she asked angrily, her voice cracking terribly.

Troy sighed and gripped his hands on the back of a chair, looking at the ground. "For everything, Gabriella. But what I meant before, you weren't making it any easier on me…because I had to see you as just a friend, something I hadn't done since high school. But it's not your fault, because you were simply just being you…trying to do your job. I guess it was just hard, seeing you again…and in the most awkward situation," he replied quietly, not taking his gaze off the floor.

Gabriella's face softened at the tone of his voice. She gulped; she felt bad for talking to him in such a harsh tone moments before. She started to fiddle with her hands, hesitant to answer. When she finally found her voice and courage, she started to speak. "I-it was hard s-seeing you again too," she said in a low voice, so low it was barely audible.

Troy lifted his hands and gaze from the chair and looked at Gabriella. She was looking down at the floor, her brown curly hair falling evenly on each side of her face. He was about to say something, when Taylor burst through the door panting, a newspaper clutched in her hand.

"Whoa, Tay, what's wrong?" Gabriella asked, snapping her head up, though her voice was still unstable.

Taylor chuckled nervously. "Well, I don't think I have to ask for details on that kiss, because apparently, it's all over the evening newspapers," she said, slamming the newspaper on the table.

Gabriella and Troy rushed over to the table, Gabriella picking it up in her wavering hands. On the cover of the sports section, was the headline, "_Bluffing Bolton?" _and underneath it, was a picture of Gabriella and Troy kissing.

"Oh my God," Troy and Gabriella breathed in unison.

----

**Author's Note: Sort of another cliffhanger. Anyway, any unanswered questions will probably be answered in the next chapter. In case you didn't remember, Troy and Chad are famous basketball players in the NBA. So, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I will update soon. Now, please click the "go" button below and write something to make me smile. Lol. Just kidding. But please review! Thanks!**


	13. Unfaithful Lies

**Author's Note: Thank you so much for all the reviews. Really, I am SO grateful and thankful for them. Terribly sorry for the wait. Here's the next chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical.**

**----**

Gabriella swallowed hard as she looked at the picture, and then proceeded to read the article underneath it.

_BLUFFING BOLTON?_

_Two-Timing Troy Seen In Louisiana _

_We all know how the Bolton-Dashsend wedding has been under careful administration; only few people had known the secret location of where the most prestigious wedding of the year was to take place. However, Jamie Khiser, (27) head of Louisiana Wedding Agency, has recently called our sources to tell us some secret information. "I've never had someone famous to plan a wedding for," she comments over the phone. "And when Troy Bolton's fiancée called, I had a sudden idea," she tells Louisiana Evening News._

_Recently, Melanie Dashsend, (23) was seen in New York on a business trip. So who was in Louisiana giving him company? No other than former high school sweetheart, Gabriella Montez (24); a.k.a., the wedding planner. _

"_Gabriella is one of the best wedding planners around," Khiser comments, "it was no surprise that Melanie requested for her assistance to plan her wedding."_

_It was however, a surprise when her fiancée, Troy Bolton, (24) NBA star for the L.A. Lakers, was seen smooching it up with their wedding planner. _

_"They seemed to regret it after," says an anonymous source who witnessed the kiss. _

_Was it because they were caught? _

"_Those two have an undeniable chemistry," Evelyn Parker of Professional Photography tells us. "They looked so happy together when they walked into my office to order photography. When she told me she was just his wedding planner, I was shocked."_

_This apparently oblivious pair have been seen at a local flower shop, Professional Photography as well as walking around town for the past few weeks. But what about Melanie?_

"_Melanie's reaction and comments are not available yet or the status of where the wedding stands," Khiser says._

_Now, however, Gabriella's job could be in jeopardy. "She broke the cardinal rule," she adds, "Her job will have to be decided by the new head of department after I leave." _

_Khiser now plans to leave the agency and write a book on her experiences. "This situation my employee was given was just too good not be written about," she explains. "Even though they weren't my own experiences, I think I can relate to how Gabriella felt." _

"What? She has no _idea_ how I felt when-" Gabriella started but was cut off by Taylor.

"Shut up! Just finish reading!" Taylor snapped.

_But it looks like Big-star Bolton isn't the only one who has been completely untrue. While Dashsend was in New York, she was constantly seen out and about with the same man - who evidently, is not her hot basketball superstar fiancée. "They're just business partners," says one of her close friends. "Melanie has no romantic interest whatsoever." _

_Our sources tell us otherwise. "They were holding hands through out the town, and briefcases were not present once," an uncover journalist reports._

_What's really going on between the two lovebirds? Will the hottest sports couple turn into the hottest break up?_

Gabriella bit her lip as she finished reading and put the article down. She slowly shifted her gaze to Troy. His eyes were still fixed on the newspaper, looking at the picture and back to the bottom of the article. He sighed loudly and then fully stood up. Gabriella started to rub her shoulder nervously as she looked down at the floor.

"Troy, I'm sorry," Taylor said to break the silence.

He snapped his head up to look at Taylor. "Don't apologize, Taylor." He said quietly, looking at his feet.

Taylor shifted uncomfortably. "Well, um, Gabriella call me later," she replied before swiftly making her way out of the apartment.

"This is just…great. What am I going to do?" Troy asked, pacing around in her apartment.

Gabriella looked up from the floor. "Well…I did tell you that you shouldn't have done it," she replied softy.

"Oh, so now it's my fault? If I'm not mistaken, I'm pretty sure you're contributing to this also," he answered, holding up the picture of them kissing.

Gabriella blushed slightly but looked away. "You know what I mean! I mean, now we could both be screwed. Your marriage could be stopped, and I could lose my job!" she exclaimed.

Troy put down the article and moved closer to Gabriella. "You know what, Gabriella? I never planned any of this to happen! A few weeks ago, everything in my life was great. I was engaged; I was starting center in my game line up, and for once in my life my dad was off my back. But then Melanie brought me here…to you. I haven't talked to you in four years, and now all of the sudden you're my wedding planner? Did you really think I would _make_ you plan my wedding if I had a choice?" he asked, out of breath.

Gabriella stood there, shocked at what he had said.

"I knew it would be awkward from the start. But no, Melanie wanted you. And I let her go through with it when we came here, because it's what _she_ wanted. And now…I'm stuck in this!" he added, walking back towards the door.

"W-well, I-I'm not the o-one w-who couldn't control their hormones!" Gabriella shot back weakly.

Troy turned around sharply. "Gabriella, what do you want me to say? I'm sorry that I wanted to kiss you? Is that what you want? Well I apologized before," he snapped before walking out the door.

Gabriella swallowed and watched the door close, shutting her out from Troy's world.

----

Troy angrily clutched a copy of the article in his hand as he opened his hotel room door. When he walked in, he saw Melanie lying on the bed, reading a copy of the article. When she noticed him, she stood up and held up the paper for him to see as he did the same.

"What the hell is this?" they asked furiously in unison.

"The wedding planner?" Melanie started off in an angry tone, "she was your high school sweetheart?"

"Don't pin this all on me! What about you? You haven't been exactly truthful, either. You told me you had business in _California! _Not New York!" Troy shot back.

Melanie's face softened and looked away. "I know, and I'm sorry, but I got transferred," she replied meekly.

"And you didn't care to tell me?" Troy asked with his brows furrowed.

"Troy…it doesn't matter. I was transferred to New York for a couple of days with my partner. Nothing happened," she said looking down at the article.

Troy looked back at his own copy. "'They were holding hands and briefcases were not present once,' says one of our uncover reporters,'" he read out of the article, "nothing happened?" he asked with raised eyebrows.

"Troy, you're honestly going to believe a newspaper over me? And really what the hell is this?" she asked livid, pointing to the picture of Troy and Gabriella.

It was Troy's turn to look away. "Um…friendly greeting?" he tried weakly.

"Friendly greeting? Troy! How can I trust you now?" she asked throwing the paper down. "How long has this been going on? Tell me, Troy."

Troy scratched the back of his neck. "Look, Melanie, nothing has been going on between Gabriella and I…the kiss was just something that happened. I didn't plan on it, but it just did. I love you," he said pleadingly.

Melanie sat on the bed with her arms crossed. "You don't love her?" she asked, her face still holding a irritated expression.

Troy swallowed hard. "Not her," he answered painfully.

Melanie searched his eyes. "Troy, I love you, but I don't want to get married if this is what's going to happen," she said, tears forming in her eyes.

"Mel, people fight. It happens all the time. Of course we bound to fight sometimes, but we'll get over it soon enough. We'll get through it together," he said, sitting next to her on the bed. Melanie then wrapped her arms around Troy and cried silently in his chest. He sighed and rubbed her back, kissing her head.

Melanie sniffled before pulling away and looking up at him with her glassy blue eyes. "Troy, I want you to be honest with me. Do you love me?" she asked searching his eyes, a tear falling from her clingy eyelashes.

Troy looked down at her with sad eyes. He nodded. "Yeah, Mel, I do."

----

**ONE WEEK LATER**

"Melanie, that dress looks really pretty on you," Gabriella commented as Melanie stepped out of the dressing room.

Melanie smiled slightly, looking down at her possible wedding dress. It was pure white, and strapless. "Thanks, Gabriella. That really does mean a lot coming from you," she snapped venomously.

Even though Troy said he didn't love Gabriella, Melanie didn't trust her anymore. After all, she _did_ kiss him back. Gabriella smiled sadly as she watched her spin around and squeal with her bridesmaids. She then turned to salesman. "We'll take it," she whispered as she handed him her credit card. The salesman smiled and took it swiftly. Gabriella then turned and watched Melanie talk excitedly.

"When Troy sees you in this he'll drop dead!" one of her sisters exclaimed.

"Yeah, I don't think he'll be able to take his eyes off you," another one added.

Melanie blushed furiously. "Stop it! You're making me even more nervous," she said as she looked at herself in the mirror.

Gabriella gave a small smile as the salesman came back with her credit card.

"It's all taken care of, Miss," the salesman said as he handed it back to her.

"Thank you. I have to go, tell them for me, will you?" she asked as she began to walk out of the store.

The salesman nodded and made his way over to the squealing girls in the corner.

"Excuse me, but how much does this dress cost? I really like it, but I want to know if I can afford it," Melanie asked sweetly.

"No need, Miss. The young lady who just left paid for it," he answered smiling.

Melanie stood there wide eyed. "Gabriella paid for my dress?" she asked in disbelief.

He nodded. "Yes, all charges," he responded before walking off.

Melanie plopped to the ground in her dress, thinking that maybe she was just a little too harsh on Gabriella before.

----

Gabriella opened the door to her apartment with ease and chucked her keys on the table as she took of her coat. She was about to plop down on the couch, but she looked quickly and saw it was already occupied.

"Sharpay? What are you doing here?" Gabriella asked excitedly as she realized who the blonde person sitting on her couch was.

Sharpay stood and hugged Gabriella. "I saw the picture in the paper…" she said uneasily.

Gabriella pulled away and nodded meekly. "Oh," she replied.

Sharpay was about to say something when Taylor came out of her bedroom. "Oh, Gabriella, you're here! I thought you weren't coming back until later," she said surprised.

"Yeah, well, I came home early. If I may ask, what are you guys doing in my apartment?" she asked confused.

Taylor and Sharpay exchanged glances. "Gab, you and Troy haven't talked for a week," Taylor started.

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I know. But why does that matter?" she asked.

It was true, ever since Troy left her apartment that night; they only talked when it was absolutely necessary; sometimes they didn't exchange a word at meetings.

Sharpay took this time to roll her eyes. "Gabs, you and Troy are perfect for each other. He's making the biggest mistake of his life right now. I mean, I thought my brother made that pretty clear to him when he came down for tuxedo fittings, but apparently he didn't. Don't tell me you didn't feel anything when you kissed him," Sharpay said caring.

Gabriella sighed as walked to her window. "Guys, I appreciate what you're doing, I really do, but he's getting married. Literally. Now he's serious…I think he made it pretty clear he doesn't want anything to do with me anymore," she replied desolately.

Taylor stood by her friend. "Gabi-" she started but the phone started to ring.

"Don't answer it," Gabriella mumbled as the answer machine picked it up. _"Hey it's Gabriella, I can't get to the phone right now, but leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can,"_ her voice rang out.

"Hey, Gabriella, it's Jeremy…I've just been wondering why you haven't responded to my calls? But, um, if you want, I was thinking maybe wanted to go out soon? Call me please, my phone number is 523 1268. I guess…I'll talk to you soon," Jeremy's voice stopped as he hung up.

Gabriella furrowed her brow. "He called me? I don't remember him calling…" she said as Taylor shifted around.

"Well, um, there is actually a reason for that," Taylor said weakly.

Gabriella looked at her friend questionably, before putting it all together. "You! What did you do?" she asked moving closer to her friend.

"Gabriella, calm down, it was really for you and Troy-" Taylor tried as she backed up.

"Taylor! There is no 'me and Troy!' How many times do I have to tell you that? It was _one_ kiss! One! It doesn't look like it meant a lot to him anyway!" Gabriella snapped.

Sharpay chose this moment to interject. "Wait, so you deleted his messages?" Sharpay asked Taylor.

Taylor nodded. "Yeah, everyday before she got home," she replied.

Gabriella gawked as Taylor earned a high five from Sharpay. "I can't believe you guys! I am going to say this one last time, okay? Me and Troy are _not_ together anymore, he's with Melanie. Do you comprehend?" she asked slowly.

Sharpay and Taylor glanced at each other before answering. "Sure," they said together is a disbelieving tone.

Gabriella dropped her hands to her sides as she made her way over to the cordless phone. "If you guys don't believe me now, maybe you will after this," she said as she picked up the phone and dialed a number. Gabriella stood in the middle of the room, waiting for someone to pick up on the other end. Taylor and Sharpay watched her with uncertain expressions on, wondering what she was doing. It seemed that Jeremy was the someone on the other line, because Gabriella said, "Hi, I'm so sorry I haven't returned your calls. But I was thinking about that date, and I would love to."

---

**Author's Note: Dun dun dun…what shall happen next? No one knows…well, except me. Haha. Okay, well, yeah…there's chapter 13, sorry if it sucked. But I think Troy is stupid, don't you? You don't have to answer that. Well, I'd like to thank Citizens of Humanity and lipshake for helping me with the chapter. XD So, next chapter should be up sooner than how long this update was…if you understood that. Haha. So, please review! Thanks!**


	14. The Wedding Rehearsal

**Author's Note: Yeah, so there's a link on my profile of Melanie's dress…so yeah. Check that out if you'd like. Anyways, didn't think you'd hear from me so soon, did you? Ahaha –sarcasm- Really sorry for the wait. XD**

**Disclaimer: These things get highly annoying. Do you honestly think I own High School Musical? No, because then I would know the actors be off somewhere flirting with Zac Efron. (Don't worry Emily, he's all yours.) XD Oh, and I don't own the Troy's vow down at the bottom…lol. You'll see.**

**----**

The next few weeks passed by without change; Troy and Gabriella both too stubborn to mumble a word to each other, Sharpay and Taylor desperately trying to get thing back the way they were, of course with a little help from Chad. There was many times where they had almost gotten to the point where they seriously considered shoving Troy and Gabriella into a room and lock them in there, until things were straightened out. Sharpay always trashed this idea; saying they were adults and could handle the situation more maturely instead of sinking to their high school tactics.

"Guys, I don't know what to do anymore, it seems hopeless at this point," Taylor mumbled, letting her head fall on the desk with a thump.

Chad sighed, leaning back in his chair and blowing a piece of hair out of his eyes. "Well, we could always encourage the date with the Jeremy dude sooner, and then watch Troy get jealous," Chad suggested.

Sharpay shook her head immediately. "No, Troy's wedding is tomorrow, Chad. Besides, Gabriella already planned her date the exact same day as the wedding, purposely. Whether she did it so she didn't have to see the person she loves get married to someone else, or if she didn't want him getting jealous, the point is that she did indeed do it."

"Damn it all! Why can't it just be like high school?" Chad asked to no one in particular. "I mean, why can't Troy just get over the fact that he's still in love with Gabriella and be done with it? Honestly, this is getting old really fast. Now he's getting married to some girl that he doesn't love just because…he's stubborn," Chad grumbled annoyed.

Taylor lifted her head up from the table. "Speaking of the wedding isn't the rehearsal in like, ten minutes?" she asked, looking at the clock.

This seemed to snap Chad out of the boring daze he was stuck in all morning. He tried to sit up quickly, but unfortunately lost his balance on the two legs of his chair causing him to fall back and hit the floor with a loud thump. "Oh shit! What kind of best man am I? I gotta get ready!" he exclaimed, getting up and running into his bedroom.

Sharpay and Taylor exchanged glances and shook their heads before resuming to their previous states.

----

Gabriella took in a deep breath before knocking on the hotel room door. She held her clipboard firmly at her side, and her head was held up high. She strongly brought her hand up to the door, knocking loudly three times. Gabriella took another breath before the door swung open with Troy standing in it, only provided with a towel wrapped around his waist and his hair sopping wet. Gabriella felt herself staring while droplets of water were falling from his hair and splattering all over his very well toned chest. His body apparently had not changed since high school; he was still incredibly in shape with his abs and muscular arms. Troy's voice snapped her out of her reverie.

"Are you going to come in, or stand out there?" he asked with no emotion.

Gabriella suddenly looked away and blushed furiously. "Oh-oh yeah, right," she stumbled as Troy walked in to the room. She followed him inside, but as she got farther into the room, she saw no Melanie.

"Where's Melanie?" she asked as Troy rifled through his suitcase for clothes.

"Went to go get coffee," he answered, pulling out a button down shirt. Gabriella nodded and watched him search for his stuff. When he got all his clothes, he paused for a moment, smiled and then stood in front of Gabriella.

"So everything's ready?" he asked, knowing perfectly well that he was making Gabriella try her hardest to concentrate on her work, and not to stare at his body.

Gabriella looked up from the floor. "What? Oh, um, yeah the church is ready for the rehearsal which starts in about a half hour," she replied quickly, looking at everything else in the room but Troy.

Troy nodded. "And for the rehearsal dinner…" he trailed off.

Gabriella took in a deep breath and tried to stare only at his face. "Yeah, Z-zeke made reservations for seven o'clock at his restaurant for all the guests and you two and can you please put a shirt on or something?" she asked desperately, getting fed up with the game he was playing.

Troy looked down at himself and chuckled quietly. "Yeah, give me a minute," he answered before walking into the bathroom and closing the door.

Once the door was closed Gabriella let out a sigh and rolled her eyes. She waited patiently in the room, looking around. Her eyes glanced around the room, and they fell upon a folded piece of notebook paper on his nightstand. She looked back at the bathroom door, and then back at the paper. She took it in her hand and started to unfold it. Inside it were what seemed like Troy's wedding vows. Gabriella began to read the first line, but suddenly the bathroom door opened. She quickly stuffed it in her jacket pocket before turning around with a bright smile.

"Shall we go?" she asked quickly, walking towards the door.

Troy looked at her strangely, but nonetheless followed her out of the room to go find Melanie on the floor below.

----

"Hi, I'm Taylor McKessie; do you know where I can find Gabriella Montez?" Taylor asked Jamie. Taylor had arrived at the church to talk to Gabriella, but she had difficulty tracking her down.

Jamie snorted. "Yeah, probably in a broom closet in the back of the church making out with the groom," she replied before walking off.

Taylor rolled her eyes. "Thanks for the help," she mumbled before setting off around the church once again. She rounded a corner to the main room of the church. She found the priest talking to Troy and Melanie up at the alter; and Gabriella talking to her co-worker, Cindy a little to the left beside them. Taylor started to make her way towards Gabriella, but before she could get to her Cindy shouted, "Okay, everybody, let's do a quick run through of the ceremony, and then we can talk about details and such."

Almost right away, every one got up and started moving towards the back of the church, except for the men who took their positions up front. She saw Gabriella writing on her clipboard as she made her way to the end of the aisle. Taylor quickly made her way through lost people, trying not to bump into anybody. She dodged in and out of people's way, determined to talk to Gabriella. Once she finally reached her at the front doors, someone quickly cut in front of her and started to talk to Gabriella. Taylor sighed in annoyance, tapping her foot patiently. Gabriella seemed to be in deep conversation, because Taylor had begun to wave her hands frantically behind the person's back, trying to get her attention. She let out a frustrated sigh and slammed her hands down at her sides when she got no response from Gabriella. Heaving in another sigh, she decided to take action.

"Excuse me sir, so sorry to interrupt your oh so important conversation, but I need to borrow Gabriella here," Taylor said, stepping in front the man and Gabriella.

The man furrowed his brow. "For what?" he asked, eyeing Gabriella.

Taylor took Gabriella's arm. "Um, the flower girl got a hold of the champagne," she made up lamely as she whisked off Gabriella.

Once the man could no longer see them, Gabriella pulled her arm away forcefully and snapped her head towards Taylor. "What was so important you had to do that for?" she asked, brushing herself off.

"Look, Sharpay, Chad and I have talked, and-" she started but Gabriella cut her off.

"Taylor, please stop trying to hook me up with Troy! It's not going-" she exclaimed loudly as an older man passed and interrupted them.

"If you ladies have a problem, could you take it outside, please? It's my daughter's wedding rehearsal," the old man snapped.

Gabriella nodded and smiled. "I'm so sorry, sir. We'll be quiet," she replied sweetly.

Mr. Dashsend smiled falsely before walking back into the main room of the church. Gabriella turned and glared at Taylor.

"See what you do?" she asked with a scowl on.

Taylor shrugged. "Please, Gabriella, he's an old man…and not to mention a father of a complete, oblivious dolt."

Gabriella widened her eyes and was about to retort, when a little girl tugged at her sleeve.

"Miss Gabi? Do you know where I'm supposed to go?" she asked innocently.

Gabriella bent down to the little girl. "Yeah, come with me," Gabriella said with a smile before standing back up holding the girl's hand. Gabriella began leading her to the front of the line that had begun to form. She placed the girl in the beginning of the line, before the bridesmaids. Turning around, she looked at the men at the alter. They were all in their positions, ready to start.

"Alright Megan, I want you to count to fifty and then start walking, just like we practiced, okay?" Gabriella asked sweetly.

Megan nodded with a smile. "Just like we practiced?" she asked.

Gabriella nodded back. "Yep," she replied smiling, standing up and walking behind the last pew. She held her clipboard at her side, watching intently as the practice ceremony began. She didn't notice she was even biting her lip until Taylor came up beside her.

"Your lip's bleeding, you know," Taylor whispered.

Gabriella jumped a bit at the voice, but quickly regained her position. "Taylor, I'm working; can we do this later? I really don't have time to lecture you _yet_ again and list a whole bunch of reasons Troy and I will not end up together," Gabriella whispered back, looking at her clipboard notes.

Taylor heaved a big sigh. "Whatever you say," she mumbled.

Gabriella rolled her eyes as she continued to flip through her notes. The two friends stood in silence; Gabriella searching through her notes every once in a while, and Taylor looking at her nails. They listened to the ramblings of the priest, and the quiet chatter of a few family members outside.

"And if anyone was to object to this man and women being joined in holy matrimony, please speak now, or forever hold your peace," the old man rang out.

Taylor swiftly leaned into Gabriella and whispered, "Maybe now would be a good time to tell him."

Gabriella snapped. She flapped her arms down at her sides, turning to Taylor, her eyes flashing. "Taylor! I don't know how many times I have to say this to get it through your head, but me and Troy are done! Finished! Do you see me as the bride up there? No! So stop trying to make something happen that won't! For God's sake, just give up!" Gabriella said in a hushed whisper, but unfortunately growing in volume as she continued to rant. This grabbed the attention of the priest, who stopped abruptly.

Blushing deeply, Gabriella smiled and looked up at the priest. "Oh, I'm so sorry. Do continue," she said to him with the wave of her hand.

The priest nodded, as Gabriella looked away quickly, but not without getting a strange look from Troy and Melanie.

"Taylor, I have really had it with you and Sharpay. For the past few weeks, all you've been trying to do is set me up with Troy. We're both happy with the way things are now, Taylor. If you were my friend you would see that," Gabriella snapped before she walked out of the church.

Taylor let out a exasperated sigh as she leaned against a wall. "No, Gabriella, you're not the bride…" she said under her breath, "but you should be."

----

Melanie picked up her fork and hit it against her champagne glass, getting everyone's attention at the Zeke's restaurant. She then stood up, smiling widely.

"I really want to thank everyone coming out tonight and tomorrow," she began, looking at all the guests around her table. "It really means a lot to me that you'll be there, and I know it means a lot to Troy, also," she added, smiling sweetly in his direction. "But who I have really to thank, would be Gabriella Montez, not just my wedding planner, but my friend, too. She's been so great to me and Troy, giving us everything we could ever want in a wedding, and making it all happen. If it weren't for this young woman right here, nothing would've happened today," she finished, making a hand gesture to Gabriella for her to come over to where she was standing.

Gabriella stopped talking to Zeke, (whom she was in a conversation about tomorrow's reception) and nervously walked over to Melanie. She reached out for Gabriella, and wrapped her in a hug. "I'm really sorry I acted that way before; it was really immature of me. I'm glad you were our wedding planner," she whispered to Gabriella so only she could hear while everyone else clapped. Gabriella pulled out of the hug, and smiled genuinely.

"It was no problem; it's what I do." She answered.

Melanie smiled back, but quickly reached into her bag. "I almost forgot. I want a picture of us," she said, fishing around in her bag.

Gabriella looked around as all the guests started to eat their food. "Melanie, you don't have to do that now, I mean we have tomorr-" she began but was interrupted.

"Nonsense! I want a picture…aha! Found it!" she exclaimed as she pulled out a digital camera. She then turned it on, and gave it to Troy, who chuckled as Melanie positioned herself next to Gabriella.

"Okay, smile…" Troy said as he clicked the button on the camera. Melanie clapped excitedly as she took the camera back.

She then turned to Troy. "Okay, now I want one with you and Gabriella," she proclaimed to Troy smiling.

Both Gabriella and Troy began to protest.

"You know, it's getting late, I should probably get prepared for your wedding-"

"I don't think that's a good idea, Melanie…I mean you saw the-"

Melanie hushed them both. "Please, this is my wedding rehearsal night. Can't you two just take a picture together?" she asked exasperated.

Troy and Gabriella locked eye contact for the first time in three weeks. "Alright," they grumbled as they stood stiffly next to each other. Melanie noticed this, because she gave them both stern looks. Troy sighed as he moved closer to Gabriella; putting his arm around her waist. Gabriella flinched a little at his touch, sending goosebumps all over her body. She swallowed hard as Melanie smiled and took the picture, sending a great flash through out the restaurant. Gabriella and Troy moved away from each other quickly, as if it were a sin to be touching. They however locked eye contact again; his eyes getting lost in her big pools of brown.

"Thank you. That wasn't so hard, now was it?" Melanie asked playfully, rubbing Troy's back. He broke the gaze and looked at Melanie.

"Yeah, surprisingly, it wasn't hard at all."

-----

Gabriella sighed as the door swung open, revealing her empty apartment. She grinned and heaved a sigh of relief, glad that it was empty. For the past few weeks, Taylor and Sharpay had been there, without warning, staying in her apartment waiting for her to come home. Gabriella made her way into the dark living room, not caring to turn on the lights. She plopped down on her couch, but heard a crinkling of paper. She furrowed her brow, before reaching into her pocket and pulling out a ripped piece of notebook paper. Her mouth opened as when she realized what it was. It was Troy's wedding vows; she remembered stuffing them in her pocket before they left. She read silently, surprised that these words had come from Troy.

_I, Troy Bolton, take you Melanie to be my wife, my partner in life and my one true love. I will cherish our union and love you more each day than I did the day before. I will trust you and respect you, laugh with you and cry with you, loving you faithfully through good times and bad, regardless of the obstacles we may face together. I give you my hand, my heart, and my love, from this day forward for as long as we both shall live._

As Gabriella finished, she put the piece of paper down with trembling hands. She had tears becoming visible in her eyes, because she now knew for sure that as of tomorrow, Melanie would be Mrs. Troy Bolton.

----

**Author's Note: So there you have it. I am really sorry for the wait on this one; but I was preparing for school, and all that stuff. I think you know what I mean, so I'm not going to waste a paragraph explaining all that stuff. I've decided there's one more chapter and then an epilogue, so be prepared…XD. Please review! Thanks!**


	15. True Love Never Ends

**Author's Note: Hola. Here is the second to last part of The Wedding Planner…hope you enjoy. My friend helped me a little with it…along with a lot of other people. Mucho gracias to those people. ;) Haha but anyway, will it be a Troyella ending? A Troyanie ending? Haha, I made the last one up, obviously. Anyway, yeah read on to find out. ;) Oh and yeah, major sap warning…you'll see.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical.**

----

Gabriella let out a breath as she looked at herself in the mirror. Her dress was simple, a teal green one that went down to her knees. Her hair was down in its usual curls; all spiraling down her back. As her eyes wandered up to her face, she saw a tear drop and slowly cascade along her cheek. She sniffed and wiped it away quickly, determined not to cry. He was not worth it; clearly she had no chance whatsoever. She heaved out another sigh as she took one last look at her reflection. Satisfied with her appearance, she grabbed her purse and left her apartment, slowly making her way down the stairs, and out to her car. She unlocked her door, and climbed in easily. Starting the vehicle, she heard her cell phone ring. She rifled through her bag, finally finding it at the bottom.

"Hello?" she asked.

"Hey," Taylor's voice rang out.

Gabriella let out a breath. "Hey…" she replied as she began to drive.

Taylor cleared her throat. "Look…I know you don't want me to say anything about you and Troy, so I won't. But…just…don't beat yourself up over this, okay? I know for a fact you weren't fine last night, and please don't say you were. I'm your best friend; I know you better than anyone. You know you can tell me anything. But anyway, the point of this conversation is, I just wanted to wish you luck on your date today," she said sincerely.

Gabriella suddenly felt guilty for all the trouble she cause Taylor the past couple of weeks; constantly yelling at her. "Thanks, Tay. And I'm sorry, for everything. It's just been hard for me, you know? I didn't mean to snap at you the past couple of days…I guess it was just tough for me to accept everything that was happening. But thanks for the call," she replied as she drove down the street.

"You're welcome. I guess I'll talk to you later?" Taylor asked.

Even though Taylor couldn't see her, Gabriella nodded. "Yeah, I'll tell you how my date went," she told her.

"All right. Talk to you soon," Taylor responded as she hung up.

Gabriella snapped her phone shut and pushed the antenna back in with her chin. Pulling over at her destination, she turned off the car and checked her make up in the rear view mirror. She sighed sadly, but then shook her head of all her thoughts. She unlocked her door and hopped out; off to help Cindy prepare for the wedding she knew she was dreading.

----

Troy looked at himself in the mirror. He was in his tuxedo; fitted exactly right. He took deep breaths, gazing at his reflection. He reached in his pocket for his vows, but couldn't find them. He then moved his hand all over his jacket pockets, looking frantically for it. As he was looking, Chad came in.

"Hey man, are you okay?" he asked puzzled, looking at his friend.

Troy looked up. "What? Oh, um, yeah…I just…uh…have you seen my wedding vows?" he asked, still searching his tux.

Chad laughed. "Wait, dude, you're telling me that you lost your wedding vows? That's something I would do," he remarked, folding his hands across his chest.

"Are you here to scold me, or to help me?" Troy spat, now looking around the room for them.

Chad rolled his eyes. "Neither. I came here to tell you that you're on in ten minutes," he informed, now leaning against the doorway.

Troy widened his eyes. "Ten minutes?" he repeated in shock.

Chad nodded. "Yeah man, our last night of bachelors has passed, my friend. In less than an hour, you will a taken man," he said in fake sympathy.

Rolling his eyes, Troy looked back at himself in the mirror. "Chad, you're insane," he proclaimed, fixing his tuxedo coat.

He put his hands up in mock defense. "Hey, I'm not the smart one that lost his wedding vows," he retorted.

"I memorized them anyway," Troy replied smartly.

Chad looked at Troy in disbelief. "Okay dude, whatever you say," he said before walking out.

Sighing, Troy looked back at his reflection. He was ready; or at least he seemed. This is what he truly wanted, right? He was marrying Melanie because he loved her...right? Troy shook his head, trying to clear his mind. Was he seriously considering this now? Reluctantly, his mind wandered back to all the memories of the past few weeks; against his will. But all the same, at every memory with Gabriella, he found himself smiling. Looking back in the mirror, he suddenly stopped. What was he doing? He was getting married. To someone that wasn't Gabriella. He shouldn't be smiling about such things...especially ones like that. Troy gulped, and his hands began to get sweaty. Maybe marrying Melanie wasn't what he wanted. Maybe...just maybe he was wrong.

-----

Troy walked into Melanie's room quietly; not wanting to disturb her yet. His eyes gazed into her dressing room, and saw Melanie standing in front of her mirror fishing around with her veil. He smiled faintly before leaning against the door frame staring at her in the mirror. Suddenly her blue eyes met his through the mirror. Widening her eyes slightly, she took her hands away from her veil and turned around.

"Troy, what are you doing here? We're going to start soon," she whispered.

Troy smiled. "Mel, you look gorgeous," he complimented.

Melanie grinned before looking at the floor. "Thanks Troy, but you need to go; we're going to start real soon," she replied now looking at him.

He took a deep breath before he could return her gaze. "Let's talk," he said, coming fully into the room.

Melanie looked at him dumbfounded. "Talk?" she repeated, playing with the end of her veil.

Troy nodded as he stood in front of her. Melanie searched his eyes, questioning him. She then sighed, and looked down at the floor, fumbling with her heels on her feet. Taking another breath, she finally lifted her head to face him.

"This is about her, isn't it?" she whispered, looking him in the eyes.

He hesitated to answer, but knew that after everything that had happened he should at least be honest with her. "Yes," he answered truthfully, nodding.

Melanie stifled a chuckle. "I knew it," she said smiling faintly.

Troy furrowed his brow. "What?" he asked.

She looked him back in the eyes. "I knew weren't in love with me like you are with her. I could see it when you looked at her, when you touched her, when you talked to her. I guess being with you so long…it just made me believe that we would always be together," she answered, plopping down on a chair in the dressing room.

Smiling faintly, he sat down next to her. "I know what you mean," he responded. "Things were the same with me…until-"

"Until her," Melanie finished, looking at him beside her on the bench.

Troy grinned, turning away from Melanie. As he looked around the room, he heard her speak again.

"What are we going to do?" asked Melanie, sighing.

He twisted to face her. "What do you want to do?" he asked, gazing at her questionably.

Melanie laughed. "I don't want to get married, that's for sure. I mean, I thought I did…but I don't."

Troy's face broke into a smile. "Yeah, same here," he answered, both of them gazing at different spots in front of them, thinking.

----

"Gabriella, I really can't believe you're doing this. I mean, you're not on great terms with Jamie, so why do it? It'll only make it worse," Cindy whined as Gabriella walked back to her car.

Sighing, Gabriella rolled her eyes before turning around to face Cindy. "Cindy, I fixed the flowers, I talked to the caterer's, hell I even slipped the best man his speech on an index card for him. What more is there to do? The wedding starts in about an hour. And as for Jamie, I don't really care," she replied, talking over the hood of her car.

"Gabriella!" Cindy cried as Gabriella crawled into the driver's seat. She turned the car around, and rolled down her window as Cindy came running up to it.

"You can't just leave," she said, "and what about Troy? I think he would want you here."

Gabriella scoffed. "Oh yeah, I'm sure," she replied sarcastically. "Cindy, everything will be fine. You know how to run weddings. Trust me, this one is no different."

Cindy was about to retort, but Gabriella sped off down the street in the opposite direction. The blonde sighed, and began to walk towards the bride's dressing room. She couldn't believe Gabriella had left her there all alone, without any assistance. Sure she was a wedding planner herself, but she never had to plan and control such a big one. Running a basketball star's wedding? Insane. She didn't know how Gabriella had managed planning it; especially the groom being her ex-boyfriend from high school. Cindy began to see why she left, to go out with that Jeremy guy she mentioned. Maybe she was doing what was right for her for once; a major improvement from being the pushover she was. Jamie always treated her terribly, almost no respect at all. Cindy let out another sigh, and knocked on the dressing room door. Receiving no answer, she knocked harder. Cindy furrowed her brow, and finally opened the door, only to reveal an empty room.

Gasping, Cindy backed out of the room quickly, and made her way towards the groom's dressing room. She bumped into many people on the way, almost sending Chad flying into the cake. She kept walking swiftly, weaving in and out of people in her way. Finally reaching her destination, she bombarded into the room.

"Mr. Bolton?" asked Cindy, her voice echoing in the vacant room.

Only receiving the sound of the trash can falling over, her eyes widened. Where could they be? She turned and left the room, rushing around the premises for the missing bride and groom. Almost knocking Chad down for the second time, he stopped her.

"Okay, you've been running around like a crazy person for the past fifteen minutes. What's going on?" he asked, holding Cindy by her shoulders.

Cindy spoke quickly. "I don't know where the bride and groom are," she mumbled, ignoring his eyes.

Chad opened his mouth. "Wait…you mean, you don't know where-"

"Yes! I don't know where they are! I've looked everywhere, I mean, I searched most places, but I can't find them!" she exclaimed, flapping her arms.

"The last I saw Troy was in his dressing room," Chad said, releasing his arms from her shoulders.

Cindy rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well that was like, what? A half hour ago? We're supposed to start in five minutes!"

"Okay! Calm down. He probably…I don't know…he probably went back to the hotel or something to find his wedding vows," Chad replied.

"He forgot his wedding vows!" Cindy shrieked, staring at him. "Oh my God, I can't believe she left me here…why would she leave me…she knew I couldn't do this…" she mumbled, her hands clutching her hair as she closed her eyes.

Chad overheard her last sentences. "Who left you here?" he asked.

Cindy opened her eyes and stared at Chad. "Who do you think? Troy's wedding planner," she snapped.

"Gabriella left?" he inquired, surprised.

Cindy lost it. "Yes! She left to go off on that stupid date with Jeremiah or whatever his name is, and left me here alone! She left me to plan this stupid wedding that's supposed to start in five minutes! Oh, yeah, and without the groom or bride present…she told me everything would be fine - for the love of God!" Cindy shouted when she spotted who she was looking for in the distance.

Getting in a white stretch limo was the bride, with the groom standing outside it. Cindy's jaw dropped, and she ran down to where they were standing; Chad right on her heels.

"Whoa, what's going on? Where is she going?" Cindy asked as she came up to Troy and Melanie.

"I'm going to New York," Melanie replied smiling, pulling the rest of her dress in the automobile, not wanting it to get caught in the door.

Cindy's eyes widened as the door closed shut. "You can't leave! You're about to be married!"

Melanie's smile grew through the open window. "Not anymore. I'll see you around, Troy," she responded, before the limo began to pull out away from the curb.

As the limo pulled away, Chad and Cindy turned to Troy. "Dude, is there something I should know about?" Chad asked, furrowing his brow as he looked at the minimizing vehicle driving away.

Troy smiled. "We're not getting married," he said, putting his hands in his pockets.

"Well, obviously! Damn it, Gabriella! It's okay! I mean, I'll just tell Jamie that she left, and the bride left, and now that the biggest wedding account is-" Cindy rambled on sarcastically, but was interrupted by Troy.

"What do you mean? Who left besides Melanie?" he asked, taking his hands out of his pockets and furrowing his brow.

Cindy let out a fake laugh. "Are you serious? Try _your_ wedding planner leaving me here to-" she was cut off again.

"Gabriella left?" he inquired, looking from Cindy to Chad.

"Uh, yeah! Gabriella left! She's gone! How many times do I have to repeat that today? Gabriella Montez, your wedding planner, left to go out on some date-"

Troy's face dropped. "She's on a date?"

Cindy's eyes were about to pop out of her head. "Yes! Can someone let me finish my sentence for goodness sake? She went out on a date with this guy she met at another wedding a couple of weeks ago, leaving me here all alone to deal with _your_ wedding!" she finished, panting heavily at the end.

Troy turned to Chad, but before he could say anything, Chad spoke first. "I got your back, man. Take my car and call Taylor, she'll know where she is. I'll tell everyone."

Troy let out a grateful smile as he took Chad's keys out his hand. "Thanks, you have no idea-"

"Yeah, yeah, the whole love thing…just go," Chad said grinning, cutting him off.

"All right, I'll talk to you later!" Troy yelled over his shoulder as he began to run in the opposite direction. His dress shoes made it extremely hard, making his feet very sore. He finally reached Chad's car, he fumbled with the keys and pushed it in the lock. He climbed in the driver's seat and started the car. Looking to his right, he spotted Chad's phone on the passenger's seat. He picked it up quickly and scrolled down Chad's contacts until he found Taylor. Pushing send, he began to drive off as the other line started to ring.

"It's about time you called me! How's it going over there? Is Troy still getting married to that-?"

Troy smiled as he cut her off. "Well Taylor, I'm glad to hear your views on the matter," he spoke in the phone.

"Oh…Troy?" she asked, chuckling nervously. "Well…um…yeah-" she started but Troy interrupted again.

"Okay, Taylor, look, I'm not getting married today. It's a long story, but I know Gabriella's out on a date. Do you know where that is?" he asked, turning onto a main road.

Taylor's lips curved into a smile. "Yeah…except she's not on the date. She called me about ten minutes ago. That's a story for another time, but she also didn't tell me where she was going. She's not at her apartment because she called from her cell phone. She could be anywhere…" Taylor trailed off.

Troy grinned for about the fiftieth time in the past ten minutes and said, "Thanks Taylor. You don't have any idea where she could be?"

"No, sorry. You could check the park," suggested Taylor.

Troy's face lit up. "Of course…the park…" he whispered.

"What? I can't hear you," Taylor said.

Turning the car around in the middle of the road, Troy received many honks and beeps from cars around him. "Nothing, Taylor, I gotta go though. I'll talk to you later," he spoke, and shut the phone with his chin.

"Dirtbag!" someone shouted as he passed a truck on the opposite side of the road. Ignoring the people, Troy sped down the street, suddenly hearing a loud roar erupt from above. Looking up at the sky, he saw that the sky was a dark gray, and the wind was picking up speed. Finally, he spotted the park coming into sight. Troy smiled faintly, and pulled over to the sidewalk with screeching tires. He jumped out of the car, and jogged into the park with high hopes.

----

Gabriella wrapped her arms around her body tighter, trying to warm herself from the chilly wind that was picking up. She walked along the sidewalk in the park, ignoring the weather and the fact that she was missing her friend's wedding. She didn't particularly care that she was missing it; it would be too hard for her anyway. For the past couple of weeks she tried to push her feelings away, tried to ignore and avoid what her heart was saying, but in the end she realized she couldn't. She met Jeremy at the restaurant, but a quarter way into the meal, she became conscious she couldn't fool anyone anymore. Who was she trying to kid? She told Jeremy she appreciated asking her out on a date, but she just wasn't ready. Gabriella wasn't exactly over the fact that he was getting married; he had kissed her for God's sake! Doesn't that mean _something?_ He took it well, and understood completely. She smiled and left, calling Taylor and telling her what had happened. That brought her to where she was now, walking cold and alone in the park; surely going to hear the wedding bells from somewhere in town.

Her eyes remained on the ground, examining the black concrete and the rough ridges sticking out everywhere. She kicked a pebble pathetically, causing it to fly through the air and roll a couple of feet in front of her. She continued to kick it, walking deeper into the park. No one was really there, it was getting chilly and the sky continued to grow dark. The park was silent; the only sound present was the rustlings of leaves and trees. Abruptly, a voice broke the peace.

"Gabriella!"

Slowing turning around, she spotted Troy running towards her. Her eyes widened, and she felt a tingle run up her spine that had nothing to do with the weather.

"Troy? What are you doing here?" she asked with a croaky voice.

Troy stopped in front of her, panting slightly. "You have no idea what I had to go through to get here," he said out of breath.

Gabriella furrowed her brow and looked behind him. "Are you alone? Aren't you supposed to be getting married to Melanie right about now?"

"Alone, yes, supposed to be getting married, yes. But that doesn't matter right now. What matters is that I'm here – with you." He said, coming closer to Gabriella.

Gabriella's heart began to pick up speed, and she felt her breaths become quicker. "I'm sorry? I-I mean why? How? What?" she stumbled, confused.

"Gabriella…do you believe in fate?" he asked, ignoring her questions.

She looked at him like he was insane. "Troy…what are you getting at?" she inquired, getting more confused by the second.

Troy continued to ignore her statements. "Fate exists, but it only takes you so far because once you're there, it's up to you to make it happen," he said softly, inching his body closer to hers.

Gabriella stared at him. "My dad used to say that," she whispered, gazing into his blue eyes.

"I know. And I think I finally understand it," he said gently, now caressing her cheek. He then leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers. Gabriella was surprised at first, but then her eyes instinctively closed as he deepened it. The kiss was soft and gentle; but Gabriella broke away suddenly, looking at him questionably.

"Why did you do that?" she asked, staring at him.

"Because I don't want to live my life knowing that I'm only 24 years old and the best thing that has ever happened to me, already happened," he replied, staring straight into her eyes.

Tears prickled her eyes, but she didn't dare let them fall. "Troy…I can't do this, I was content and I was moving on, and then you had to wander back into my life; why, why do you constantly torment me? You know you can't do this to Melanie. What's the point of all this? Please just go," she answered stubbornly.

Troy looked away at the ground, ignoring her demand. "Melanie…is better without me. She doesn't love me."

Gabriella scoffed. "So that's it! I'm your second best!" she exclaimed, tears now falling down her cheeks.

Troy started to grow frustrated now, kicking a rock off to the side. "Damn it Gabriella, you were never second best, Melanie was who I settled for; it was never going to be you. Do you honestly think that after all we've been through; I would choose you second best?"

Taking a deep breath, Gabriella remained silent.

"Gabriella, I know you. You're just afraid," he stated, his eyes remaining on her.

Gabriella's eyes narrowed. "Why would I be afraid?"

"Because that is another thing only I know about you. Gabriella, you build up this wall, and then you try to hide your feelings behind it. You want to care only about your job, your reputation, and everything you have worked towards in your life so far. It's natural. It's who you are. But you also think that if you leave with me today you'll be throwing all of that away. Why are you so convinced with throwing me away? Do you remember sophomore year? When the guys tried to show you that you meant nothing to me? You meant the world to me, and you still do. I love how you think about everyone else beside yourself; but for once, give yourself a chance to find your happy ending. You've done it so many times before for other people, why not for yourself? I know you care what other people think, what other people say or do; and I know that scares you. What ever happened to high school? You never cared what they thought. We both made that pretty clear back then," he finished with a small smirk.

Gabriella was losing it, and fast. "Troy, stop it! Be real and honest for once and stop making references to high school. It's not like that anymore! This is real life! It's not some musical we're trying out for, and this is not about the start of something new. It's about actual life! Sometimes when you make big enough mistakes you can't fix them," she said weakly, wrapping her arms more closely around her body.

Troy came closer to her. "I know. I made my mistake a long time ago," he said softly.

Gabriella bit her trembling lip as he came nearer. "Troy…"

"Shh," he whispered, putting his fingers up to her lips. "I never thought we'd see each other again. And the day I proposed, I swear so many images of you came into my mind. But I thought that she loved me, and that was all I really needed. I mean I respected her, but I could never love her the way that I fell in love with you. These couple of weeks has been so crazy; I can't believe I almost let you go again," he whispered, pushing a stand of hair behind her ear.

Gabriella let a single tear fall down her face, but it was brushed away by Troy's thumb. "I love you, Gabriella. I always have," he added.

As she stared into his eyes, she knew she couldn't deny anything any longer. She was so stupid in trying to deny her feelings, when she knew they were there all along. Her voice was quiet and feeble, but she let the words escape her lips. "I love you, too."

Troy smiled as his hands dropped from her face and slid down her arms. Her breath caught in her throat and butterflies arrived in her stomach as he inclined his face towards hers. It was no less than two seconds when his lips were pressed up against hers. She accepted the kiss more this time; happy that she could finally kiss him without worry or despair. Her arms wrapped around his neck as his around her waist. The kiss was soft and gentle; just perfect for them. It was soon broken however, by a single rain drop dropping on Gabriella's face.

She looked up into the dark sky and saw more raindrops begin to fall. She smiled as she looked at Troy; now knowing that everything had fallen into place.

----

**Author's Note: Oh God. Cheeseeeeeee! That was the cheesiest thing I've ever written. But yeah..hope you enjoyed. Sorry it took so long. But please review! Thanks**!


	16. Epilogue

**Author's LAST Note: My last author's note on this story. –tear- It's sad. And sort of long. But all things must come to an end, whether we like it or not. Miserably, my friends, this is the end for this story. But I would really, really, like to thank all of my reviewers, because you all are great. Really. I mean, over 700? That's the most I've ever had, let alone dreamt of. So before this author's note gets way to long, I'll finish up this part. I really, really do appreciate reviews, they do mean a lot to me. Thanks so much for them. XD**

**All right, next order of business. Sequel. I will probably not have a sequel. I have tried writing sequels, and they're really not my thing. For my stories, anyway. I know, some of you are like, 'well, you're writing for HSM, which is techincally a sequel to the movie...' I know. But I don't like to do sequels. I don't know why...I just don't. So, make up your own ending after this. If you see them having ten kids or moving to a third world country when this ends, be my guest. The ending is up for you to decide.**

**So, enough of my pointless ramble that took up almost half of this…and enjoy. Thanks again for all the support through out this story! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! XD**

**Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical. Just the satisfaction of writing a fun story. XD**

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**One Year Later. **

"Hey," Troy said softly as he wrapped his hands around Gabriella's waist. She turned her head slightly to the left, only to see that it was Troy. She smiled and went back to reading her book.

"Hey yourself," she answered with a smile on.

Troy grinned and rested his head on her shoulder. "What are you doing?"

Gabriella reached for a chip across the table. "I am reading Jamie's new book," she answered, showing him the cover.

"Well," he started as he began kissing her neck, "I think you should take a break," he stated, continuing to kiss different parts of her neck.

Gabriella giggled as she moved to the right, just out of his reach. "A break? Troy-" she started but he resumed to his actions.

"Yes, a break," he repeated in between kisses.

"And what exactly would I do on this 'break?'" she asked smiling, turning her head to face him. He gave a mischievous grin on his face. Suddenly, he started to tickle her sides.

"Troy!" she shrieked as he began. "Troy, please! Stop!" she yelped in between giggles. "I want to see how it ends!"

Troy abruptly stopped, and took the book out of her hands, looking at the cover again. "How I Became My Ex-boyfriend's Wedding Planner? By Jamie Kisher?" he read off the glossy cover, raising his eyebrows.

"Sound familiar?" Gabriella joked.

He smiled, and then placed the book on the table. Tugging Gabriella up by her hands out of her seat, he pulled her close to him. "We had a better ending, anyway. I love you," he said softly.

Grinning, she allowed Troy to peck her on the lips. "I love you too," she replied, enlacing her fingers with his.

Troy smiled and kissed her quickly again, before speaking. "Oh, that reminds me, go get ready. We're leaving soon."

Gabriella tilted her head back. "Are you ever going to tell me where we're going?" she whined, looking back at him and pouting.

He let out a laugh. "No, I told you, it's a surprise! You'll find out soon," he replied, before titling his head towards her bedroom.

Sighing, Gabriella started to make her way towards her room. "Okay…but it better be good, Bolton," she joked before closing her door.

Gabriella made her way into her closet, searching what to wear. He wouldn't give her any hints to as where they were going, so how could she know what to wear? She was about to pull something off a hanger, when the phone rang. She trudged out of her closet and picked up the phone off her nightstand.

"Hello?"

"Hey! I guess you didn't leave yet?" Taylor's voice rang out.

Gabriella grunted. "No, and he won't tell me anything."

Taylor laughed. "Ah…secretive. Do you think he's going to propose?"

Gabriella's head snapped up. "I haven't thought about that…but I don't think so," she answered reasonably.

"Why not? I mean, it's Troy we're talking about here," Taylor pried.

"Well, we're definitely in no rush to get married; after all the craziness, we promised that we would at least talk about it before he even asked me. But, then again Troy has been known to surprise me an awful lot…" Gabriella trailed off. "Though whether or not Troy proposes to me tonight doesn't matter, because I know he loves me. And when he's ready, he will declare it to the world."


End file.
